Now Darkness Falls
by Potato Tree
Summary: Hadeel Brosk is an ordinary girl, like most young adults her age she goes to college and has a job, she likes to listen to music, and values sleep like gold. Her life seems rather boring until a certain voice seems to wake her up from her dull reality, thrusting her into a world she could only dream of. In this world someone is protecting her, even when she falls he's there.
1. Prologue

**AN: I've been meaning to write something like this for a while, and I really like Bane, so here goes.**

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_"And I can feel your pain, in my bones, in my bones."_ **_-Manchester Orchestra_**

**Prologue**

"Little Songbird?" His pained voice whispered to her softly. The way her body had smashed into his and thrown them across the floor had caused his mask to unhinge slightly, but that was the extent of his injuries that could have been a lot worse. Batman was gone and the building was empty save for the two figures on the floor.

Bane looked down at his friend timidly. Moments before he had been standing over the Batman, ready to take his life, and in the next moment he woke to find Hadeel was next to him with her eyes closed. He'd shifted his body slightly when he'd woken; this caused the girl on top of him to fall limply on the ground. His mask hissed angrily and he couldn't help but groan in slight pain as he pulled himself into a sitting position. Immediately his thoughts went to his friend who lay beside him, she wore a sort of cloak about her body that covered her head in a black hood.

Immediately he could smell it, the powerful stench of blood in the air, he checked himself frantically hoping that it was his blood, but he had no wounds. Removing the cloth of the cloak gently from the girl's body Bane stiffened before wrenching the rest of the black cloth from the girl's form. The clothes she wore had been torn and blasted away, leaving behind ripped flesh to bleed out until she died.

"Hadeel?" His voice was more rushed this time. Carefully he took the black cloth and wrapped it around her wound, tying it tightly he turned his attention back towards her face. Her skin looked pale in the light and he couldn't help but feel desperate as he stared at her. "Hadeel?" His voice was louder this time. He placed his hand on her cheek softly, smearing her own blood on her face he took her into his lap cautiously, she wasn't responding to him.

What had she done? It looked like a terrible blast had ripped into her body, did that mean that she'd done something to save him, and was this wound that she carried meant for him? The night before he'd told her to run, that she could make it out of Gotham if she was smart, that he wasn't going to stop her, and she could make it. Why had she stayed instead?

"Hadeel, open your eyes," he demanded of her in a shaky voice. She wasn't supposed to be here, she was supposed to be safe. "Please," he whispered taking her into his arms.

How much is a second worth?

It is worth the time it takes to breathe and fill ones lungs with air? Someone might say a second of realization saved their lives as they were almost hit by a car. Humans do not usually value time as they should, most do not realize that once it's gone they can never get it back. Time is as important as eating is and should be just as valued as breathing, but it isn't.

Time goes by as quickly as one sleeps the night away, or watches a movie; only those who know how to cherish it know how to properly use it.

Because what does a year, a month, a week, a day, a minute, or even a second mean? One might ask someone who missed a train how much a minute would mean to them, or they could ask a couple in love how much the day they met meant to them. A week in a hospital could save someone's life; a month with a stranger could create a lifelong friendship.

What else is a second worth? Could someone save their friend?

It only took Hadeel a few seconds to realize what was happening, and it only took her one second to act upon it.

_One._

Bane is in trouble.

_Two. _

If he gets hit, he won't survive.

_Three._

I can save him.

So she did, at the last second she'd jumped in front Bane. He didn't notice, for not a second later did the blast hit her body and force both of them backwards, knocking them out in the process. Batman and the other woman didn't bother to check to see if he was dead or to see if someone else had taken the blow for the masked man.

_"And Hallelujah, to the one in our bones,_

_And Hallelujah, to the one that we love."_

_**Manchester Orchestra**  
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_****_**AN: This is a little different for me, but with accordance to this character there will be songs, or quotes in every chapter. Anyway, there's the prologue, hope you liked it. I'll try to update this story as often as I can since school and work are getting a little crazy.  
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**Thanks for reading.  
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	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Most of the songs used in the stories are one you can find on youtube, if you want me to write in the name of the song as well as the band, just leave me a note.**

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_"I could feel a hot one taking me down for a moment, I could feel the force. Fainted to the point of tears, and you were holding on to make a point." **- Manchester Orchestra**_

**Chapter One**

At 8:45 pm Hadeel Brosk did what she had been doing since the beginning of the term, cleaning up paint in her art classroom and wiping down the tables before gathering up her backpack and art supplies. It had been a long day for her, as it always was on Mondays and Wednesdays when she had class from eleven in the morning until nine at night. Not that she minded, it was the way that she had set up her schedule, this way she would be open more days to work during the week. She was currently in her third term of college, taking classes in Gotham where her family had always lived, and living with her parents and two younger sisters.

With brown hair and eyes that changed from green to blue sometimes people would comment about how her eyes looked abnormally green that day and that perhaps the shirt she was wearing had something to do with it. She would smile and laugh, joking about how she never cared what color her eyes were because they always seemed to change on her. With pale skin that burned and peeled rather than tanned theres nothing else that seems special about this girl.

On this particular night Hadeel looked out the window into the rain that had started to fall an hour ago and it had still not let up at all, her teacher gave a short laugh before suggesting that Hadeel leave her portfolio in the classroom. Of course Hadeel had to agree, she didn't want her art to get wet and ruined, plus her car was a little ways walk away from the building.

Looking out gloomily into the rain Hadeel couldn't help but let her depressing thoughts come back to her. It was barely the start of the term, she and her friend had taken the art class together so they would both be stuck at school until nine, it would be a little tough sometimes but they were together, so it wouldn't matter. At the start of the third week that friend dropped the class and ditched Hadeel to take a class with a guy she liked. That left Hadeel to take the class alone with a bunch of strangers that would smile at her from across the room before going back to their work.

She couldn't tell her friend that she was angry at her, mostly because she was just sad that her friend would leave her for a guy, that she was less compared to him. With sad thoughts swallowing her mood Hadeel did her best to hide her bag beneath her jacket before running off into the rain, hoping that nothing would get too wet on the way to her car.

Her footsteps could be heard as splashes as she bounded her way across campus towards the small parking lot that was deserted save for a few cars that belonged to other art students. Feeling her grip on her bag loosen she pulled it up suddenly grasping at it frantically when she thought something might have fallen. By now her hair was soaking and sticking to her face, making her huff and push it out of her eyes grumpily, finally she got to her car and fumbled into her bag for her keys.

She couldn't find them.

Feeling of dread suddenly flooded her being as she desperately searched through her bag for the magical key that would open her car, but she couldn't find it.

"No," she exclaimed exasperated. "Why me? Why tonight? Why in the rain?" She cried and complained into the dark night sky.

Growling angrily at herself she looked through her bag again, whimpering when she saw raindrops beginning to show on the papers in her bag. Her mind raced through everything she had done before leaving the classroom, her keys were in her bag, and she'd checked them before exiting out of the classroom and into the rain.

"So I dropped them in the rain?" She questioned herself trying to recall what had happened. Mumbling miserably to herself she pushed her bag under her car and took off her jacket to put beneath her bag, as if the extra cloth would create some sort of protection. This left her to run back towards the courtyard in her sweater, desperately wishing that somewhere along the way she would step on her keys and wouldn't have to scour the ground for them.

It just wasn't her day today, first there had been family issues, then her boss had cut her hours again, and then her friend dropped the class, everything bad was happening today. Hadeel had to note to herself that if it had been raining earlier in the day she would have rejoiced and run around in it for a little while. But no, it had to wait until nightfall to say hello to Gotham.

Feeling angry at herself all over again she began to search the ground, hoping that the little bit of light that was given off would help her find something shiny on the ground, alas there was no such thing as hope for her tonight.

It had taken her twenty minutes to finally give up and sit on a bench wretchedly, she was soaked to the bone, as a grandmother might say, her measly sweater had done nothing but add weight to her form. Glancing back at the parking lot she saw that her car was the only one that still remained, she could see the white color of it faintly in the dim light of the streetlights. Shivering and shaking in the rain she wondered if she could somehow get back into the building, that perhaps she could borrow a phone and call her parents.

They wouldn't be happy when they found out that she lost her keys, but for now all she wanted to do was get home, take a warm shower, and wallow in the sorrow that she would not express to anyone. Her mother would frown and shake her head, commenting about something before going on about what had happened at work that day, and then her father would ask how her day went besides losing her keys. But he wouldn't really listen.

Pulling her legs to her chest Hadeel tried to find any sort of warmth that her body might offer her, stifling a laugh as she thought about what her parents would do, she knew them all too well. Her sisters were probably watching some T.V show with an attractable guy character, or talking to their friends about someone at school. While her brothers were playing video games and would still be playing them for another five hours before finally crashing and letting sleep consume them.

Closing her eyes slowly Hadeel could feel the warmth of her blankets on her skin, the smell of clean shirts and dirty socks, the constant talking from the room next to her that belonged to her sister, and the fast drabble of conversation from the living room. It was all routine for her, a warm homely routine that her family followed almost every night, something that comforted Hadeel at times, but at the same time suffocated her.

Opening her eyes to the cold and wet reality that was her life at the moment she tilted her head towards the sky before letting her soaked shoes touch the ground and splash in the never ending puddle that seemed to be the sidewalk. Looking quickly towards the nearest building she saw that there was only one light still left on, glancing towards the rest of the buildings she tried to figure out which one might still be open.

Finding her legs again she started off at a slow jog towards the first building, praying that the doors would be open she didn't notice the fact that her hands were just as cold as the metal when she grabbed the handle and pulled. A choked metal sound found her ears when the door tugged slightly but did not open, a frown and a growl escaped Hadeel's lips before she sprinted off towards the next set of doors.

No such luck found her at any of the other doors on the first or second building, which meant that there was only one building left, this one always kept its lights on but sometimes it wasn't even open in the mornings.

Feeling her hands shake from the cold Hadeel felt like crying, she felt like shouting into the sky and cursing whomever might be watching her and laughing with amusement. Turning her head lazily to the left as she walked towards the last set of doors she saw a small bit of overhang that seemed to be blocking the rain and providing a small chance of dryness.

"Please, please, please," she murmured as her fingers curled around the handle of the last door. Giving it a tug she almost let out a scream of anger when the door made the same choked metal sound but didn't open.

Now everything that she had been holding back for the past week came crashing down on her as she stood in the rain and looked at the doors with hate and despair on her face.

"Someone really hates me," she whispered to herself painfully.

Trudging back towards the bit of dryness that she had seen earlier Hadeel sat against the wall and looked out at the rain that she felt was almost mocking her with its steady rhythm and beat. Seeing her own sopping wet shoes ticked her off as she cursed herself for not thinking to check the weather before coming to school that day, then again she never check the weather before so she wouldn't have checked it anyway.

"I guess I'll just wait for the rain to let up," she whispered to herself.

It was weird, talking to herself at school, but there was no one else that would care to listen or even think her weird for talking to herself in the first place. Somehow she knew that the rain would not let up as quickly as she hoped so she let her mind wander, filling her brain with different ideas for stories she might want to write. Characters that she was still developing, songs that she had been listening to before going to school that morning, and bands that she really liked. Her eyes glazed over as she let herself fall into a sort of trance as her thoughts circled back to the miserable feeling of being wet she blinked and came back into reality.

This was the reality that she hated right now, losing her keys in the rain in the dark, the buildings not being open, the feeling of being less then someone else, and everything else that she was feeling. She wondered faintly what tomorrow would be like, having a fleeting thought of sleeping at the college through the night made her shiver. Eventually, she hoped, her parents would realize that she hadn't gotten home yet and would come to get her, that perhaps they might be worrying about her and coming to get her right now.

If only she could believe her own thoughts.

After a few minutes of silence Hadeel felt that the night was too silent, that the dark was beginning to feel a little scary, and that the air was growing colder. Her mind started to race as images of dead bodies began to flood her vision, news reports talking about how a college student had been killed on a rainy night. She had to block everything out before allowing her mind to become numb with words and meanings.

"Cold, dark sea," she started off the song softly. Reveling in the sound that came off the walls behind her and next to her, she felt a little bit of scariness leave her form as the familiar song threaded through the night air. "Wrapping its arms around me," her own arms tightened around her form as she shivered again from the cold. "Pulling me down to the deep," her voice grew a little bit louder as she sang. "All eyes on me," she sang finishing the first two lines.

"All eyes on me," she added in a small voice.

This was how she usually ended her day, all throughout art class she would hum or sing a little bit of whatever song happened to be stuck in her head. Then she would leave class and song that song all the way to her car, save for tonight when the rain had stolen her voice away from her and pushed her into a corner. This was how she kept herself happy and contained.

030

It had already been raining for a couple hours when Bane walked towards the only college that Gotham had, small and discreet, with only three buildings, it almost seemed hidden away from the tainted city. There was no reason for the man to be at the college, but he figured that if he was going to be in charge of the city in the future the out to know it a bit better. It would allow him to navigate through the streets and find his way around the town without needing any sort of help.

The buildings were locked he could tell that much just by the way they were lit, scarcely, one light, and a handful of lights, mean to look like there might still be someone there when there was no one at all. In the parking lot he could see one car, a white older looking vehicle that might belong to a professor, who else would still be here at 9:45pm? Certainly not a student.

Taking powerful steps into a more open area of the school Bane felt something crunch beneath his shoes. Stepping back he reached down and grabbed at the object on the ground, feeling cold metal in his hands he saw that it was a keychain with about five keys on it and a small weird looking creature that looked dirty from the rain. It's small cloth eyes looked up at him without any sort of emotion as there was no trace of a smile stitched anywhere on the face. Faintly Bane wondered if perhaps that car was still in the parking lot because these keys were on the ground, would he be finding an older man or woman walking around in the rain?

Walking around the campus more Bane pulled his coat closer to his body and dropped the keys into his pocket, he'd made sure to grab a coat that was rain resistant or at least somewhat rain resistant, as he knew it was going to rain. The water beneath his boots splashed and jumped as he wandered aimlessly through the buildings and into more of a courtyard area, listening to the steady fall of the rain he stopped short when he could hear a different sound.

A soft, throaty, and smooth sound wafted towards his ears before the rain seemed to drown out the sound angrily. Bane took a step towards the sound again when he heard it break through the steady sound of rain falling against the sidewalk, stopping when he saw a figure curled up against a wall he waited for the sound to come back.

Finally he could hear words break through and command his attention and ears, certainly this was the person that had lost their keys and given up hope for now.

"Your waves are rocking me, I close my eyes and fall asleep," the girl's voice moved through the rain like a snake. Her voice was breathy and reminded Bane of how one might sound if they whispered into a microphone, but it was nice, a good companion to the sounds of the rain. "All eyes on me, your eyes on me." She finished the song before turning towards his direction and letting her eyes widen slightly at the sight of him watching her.

Her face was stony at first as she looked at him in surprise, quickly the expression disappeared and she stood up shakily and took a few steps towards him. Bane had a hood over his head, shadowing his face from her sight, hiding his mask from her eyes; he watched her careful steps and noticed the shiver in her body.

"It's dry under here in you need a place to rest and get out of the rain," she said forcing a smile onto her face. Her short brown hair was damp and perhaps had dried off a little from being dry for however long she had been avoiding the rain; strong green blue eyes stared at him kindly as a smile broke out onto her face. "Unless you like getting soaked that is," she murmured under her breath lazily.

This made Bane smile slightly; he'd expected the girl to get fearful of him, as most people would. A tall dark figure staring at you in the rain, what about that doesn't scream danger, danger?

"Have you lost something child?" Bane questioned watching to see what her reaction might be. Her expression didn't change much, though her eyes seemed to glance away from his form for a few seconds.

"Did you find something?" She finally asked searching for his eyes.

There was a small sound of something jingling as Bane pulled the keys from his pocket and threw them at her figure. The girl fumbled around frantically before catching her keys and letting a bit of a triumphant look flash across her face as she held them in her hands.

"Piece of crap," he heard her whisper to her keys softly. She glared at them darkly, letting her eyes thin and turn cold before she looked back at him with a new expression on her face.

"Thank you, thank you so much," she said letting a pained tone enter her voice for a second before it was gone. "You don't know how long I looked for these," she explained squeezing some water from the small cloth creature.

"The pleasure was all mine, merely walked by them," he said letting his voice echo through the air. It was silent for a moment as the girl tried to find something to say to the man she didn't know, and had no knowledge of what he was planning on doing.

"I have to go but, if you're ever walking by here again, I'll be in the art room. Find me, I'll give you something as a thank you, a better thank you," she explained tightening her grip on her keys.

"Possibly," Bane murmured watching a smile creep onto her face.

"Okay," she grinned before running into the rain and past him. "Have a good night," she called back to him before fading into the dark space around him.

Faintly he heard a car start before once again the rain drowned out any other sort of sound, would he end up coming back to the college? Maybe, maybe not. He was curious, what would the girl give him that he could possibly want?

030

Hadeel grumbled and shivered in her car as she noted to herself that her car seat was more than likely getting damp and nasty from her wet person. Monday's really were the worst days of the week, in all the madness of the rain and looking for her keys she had forgotten that it was, in fact, a Monday. This just gave her another reason to hate the wretched awful day that no one ever seemed to like, poor Monday.

Thinking back to the man that had given her back her keys Hadeel found herself getting lost in thought as she remembered his voice. It was different, unlike anything she had ever heard before, but at the same time calming and new, she wished that he'd spoken more so she could have heard it. The voice was hard to describe, metallic maybe? Almost a little mechanical, and it also sounded old, all things that Hadeel seem to gravitate towards whenever she was interested in someone.

Parking in the parking garage next to her parent's apartment she left her bag in her car, not wanting to get it wet because she needed to carry it upstairs, and thought further of the man. She had not seen his face, didn't know what he looked like, couldn't recognize his body features, but she did know his voice. If he ever came back to the college he would have to speak to her in order for her to know who he was, or perhaps he wouldn't, depending on whether or not Hadeel would feel that she knew him. Then again it all came down to if he would ever show up at the college again, and if he would seek her out as she had suggested.

Opening her door with her key Hadeel smiled as she looked at the keys, there were still nice people in the world who helped strangers.

Immediately her mind corrected her of that thought, when she had first seen the man standing in the rain and staring at her, the first thought that entered her mind was.

_Run. He might want to kill you. _

Then her brain got the better of her thoughts as she offered him a dry place to stand next to her, not many people like being stuck in the rain. Even if it looked like the man had a pretty decent coat on she couldn't imagine that he liked having rain pelt him as he walked around for whatever reason he was walking around. She didn't know if he really was a killer or not, or if he liked to kill babies for fun or something terrible like that. For all she knew he could have been hoping that she had something valuable to steal, but instead he had given her back her keys, and for that simple reason she felt that he was a good person.

Though she could be horribly wrong the realization was nice, because Hadeel was really in the need of someone nice in her life right now, even if she didn't know his name or even what he looked like.

"I knew it," a voice brought Hadeel's attention back to reality. Her father was looking at her from over the couch, where he was sitting in front of the T.V and probably watching the news that he claimed was oh so important.

"What?" Hadeel questioned dropping her keys on the counter and staring at him.

"You were running in the rain, and that's why you were getting home later," he mused smiling at her. Hadeel glanced at the microwave clock to see that it was already 10:45pm, that it had taken her almost two hours longer to get home instead of the usual ten minute drive back to the apartment. "Your class ends at ten, right?" He questioned turning back towards the television, dismissing her.

"Sure dad," she muttered turning to go towards her room. She'd lost count of how many times she'd told him that her class ended at 8:45pm and that she would likely be home by nine, somehow he always forgot about that.

Walking past her sister's room Hadeel could hear the fain murmur of whatever T.V show Margo might be watching, probably drooling over some guy that she thought was quite hot. Next she passed her youngest sister's room, Alana, there was no noise coming from behind the door, only the faint glow of something that was turned on and being stared at.

Sometimes people commented on how different Hadeel and her sisters names were, she would have to explain to them that her mother wanted to feel like she had children from all over the world and given them such names. Hadeel was Arabic, Margo was French, and Alana was Irish, or at least according to whatever book or person had told her such was true, her brothers had slightly more common names, but not much better. The only thing that Hadeel liked about her name was that it had never been repeated at school. Sometimes there were two Megan's, or three Emily's in a class, but there was never two Hadeel's, plus it was kind of fun to hear teachers stumble over pronouncing her name.

Hadeel's two younger sisters both seemed to hate her, not that they specifically expressed or voiced their hate for their elder sibling, it was just the way they acted and threw around words that made Hadeel frown. They were turning into the teenagers that Hadeel hated, the ones that were messy and loud and never cleaned up after themselves, the kind that didn't listen and didn't care about what you told them to do. Just like all the other teenagers that looked at everyone like they were better than them, granted there are a handful of good, friendly teenagers that have not crossed over to the dark side. But they tend to hide away behind the ones that are loud and dismissive, simply because they hate them as well and would rather not be seen with such awful creatures.

Finally getting to her own room Hadeel opened the door to darkness; their apartment was on the eleventh floor, an older building that her family had lived in since they'd moved to Gotham when Hadeel was nine. She liked the city, but all in all she missed where she had grown up as a child, mostly she missed the idea of her friends who had forgotten her, a dark memory that had scarred her heart.

Changing out of her damp clothing and into a large T-shirt Hadeel walked back down the hall towards the bathroom to see the familiar long brown hair of her sister Margo leaving the walking through the door.

"What did you do, run around in the rain for an hour?" She commented slyly letting her sister walk past.

"Does it matter?" Hadeel questioned looking at her sister with a bored, dull expression.

"No, I'm going to sleep," she snapped turning around and leaving her sister to stare at her back grumpily.

"Then why did you ask?" Hadeel murmured under her breath unhappily.

Margo was one of those people that would seem totally fine one moment and then snap and start yelling and making snide comments at you the next, not that she was bipolar or something like that. She just had a quick temper that Hadeel hated. Most of the time Hadeel and Margo got along just fine, but there were moments would the beast would show its ugly face and Margo would start getting sassy and snide with her older sister. There was no respect in this family.

Ridding herself of the large T-shirt Hadeel turned the shower on and waited for it to warm up while she watched the mirror grow slightly foggy in protest. The air in the bathroom started to feel heavy as she continued to breathe slowly; her thoughts were immediately drawn back to the mystery man. Would she ever see him again?

Stepping into the scalding water Hadeel whimpered lowly as she jumped away from the terrible hotness that burned her skin, turning the water to a colder setting she stepped into the warm water and sighed, the perfect ending to a terrible day. At least she didn't have work tomorrow, she could go back to school and pick up her portfolio so she could work on it at home for the day, maybe do some reading, and just relax. Though she would hold her keys in her hand the whole time, or in her pocket, as she did not want a repeat of what had happened tonight.

Her mind was in a daze for the rest of the shower as she tried to imagine what the man might look like, thought she couldn't match the voice with any sort of man she'd ever seen, everyone she knew was so normal. Drying off her hair and putting the huge T-shirt back on her form Hadeel exited the bathroom, frowning at the cold feeling of the air outside the bathroom she walked towards her room. The light was still on, making a bit of yellow brightness glow out into the dark hallway, the carpet beneath her feet felt almost rugged, not that she really cared.

Looking at her calendar she crossed out another day and looked back at all the lines that she had drawn through days that had passed, it already felt like such a long time had gone by since the beginning of the day. It hardly felt fair to only cross out one day instead of two or three. Regardless of that fact Hadeel combed her short hair and went to turn off her light casually, noting the change in carpet beneath her feet as she passed her rug.

The light turned off and Hadeel searched the room as she always did for the glow in the dark stars that seemed to litter her walls and ceiling. Her father had given them to her as a silly Christmas present the year before and she never felt the need to take them down, because sometime she liked to stare at them when she couldn't sleep. There used to be planets as well but they fell off gradually over the course of two months, one had fallen on her face as she slept. Needless to say that planet was never allowed back into her room.

It was weird to think that something that had happened a year before, a day before, or even an hour before felt so far away. For the more she thought about the man with the strange voice the more Hadeel felt that it was more like a dream or a distant memory, that perhaps he wasn't real and she wouldn't see him again.

Shifting her face away from the stars and the door Hadeel shooed the thought out of her mind carelessly, she was thinking about a man she did not know, letting her mind wander around cautiously as she tried to imagine him. Quite frankly she was starting to feel that she was, in fact, as crazy as people said she was sometimes, she didn't know him, why should she care?

_"Whats the point?"** - Manchester Orchestra **_

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**AN: I realize that thus far I have used two Manchester Orchestra songs, that will change. But if you don't know who they are and you like to listen to songs with amazing lyrics, give them a try.  
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**This particular song by them is called 'I Can Feel a Hot One,' and the song in the prologue is called 'I Can Feel Your Pain.'  
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**Thank you for reading.  
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	3. Chapter 2

**AN: I hope you like this character that is Hadeel, one of you said you did,and I thank you for that. I like to know whether or not my OC in being annoying or pathetically irritable. **

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_"I just want to be ok, be ok, be ok. I just want to be ok today." **-Ingrid Michaelson**_

**C****hapter Two**

After a week of waiting for the so called mystery man to come back Hadeel went back to her weekly routine, almost completely forgetting about the man she went to her classes normally. As opposed to the last few days when she had been looking for a man in a huge coat or listening for the unique way in which she remembered that he spoke. She sat at the table in which her friends would talk about classes, food, internet things, and anything else that seemed to get a laugh out of them.

It turned out that the friend that had dropped the art class for a language class had not been allowed into the class as it was already full, but this just made Hadeel even more sad because it meant that her friend could go back to art but didn't. They talked like normal; she didn't suspect that anything was wrong with Hadeel and Hadeel didn't give her any reason to think that there was something wrong. But she couldn't forget the feeling of hurt that came along with the memory that she had been left for someone else.

Regardless of that thought Hadeel excused herself from the table to go to class early, saying that she needed to do some make-up work on one of her projects, when really she just wanted to get away from the table. Picking up her portfolio she trudged out of the building and towards the one that contained the art room that she spent so much time in, shifting her messenger bag around on her shoulder she took a second to look up at the sky. With the sun going down and a few clouds lying around in the sky the sunset could be called pretty or beautiful if that was the word one wanted to use.

Letting a sigh escape her lips Hadeel wandered over to the art room, seeing a familiar face of one of her classmates she walked into the room and put her stuff down on a table, smiling at said person briefly. She then took out her sketch book and began to draw meaningless things until the teacher came in fifteen minutes later, followed by the rest of the students. Her art class was small; usually it only had about ten or eleven students in it on a good night, sometimes there were even less than that.

"Today's class is going to be cut short; I have to pick up my son from school at 7:30, he has some sport event. So tonight will be an open studio, finish whatever you haven't finished already," her teacher said loudly.

The rest of the class seemed to teeter about for a few minutes until finally settling down on what they needed to finish, Hadeel pulled out a painting that she needed to touch up. It was an odd sort of piece, darker colors like black, blue, and grey with a few warm colors like white and yellow. It wasn't quite clear what it was because it was more abstract than anything and seemed to remind different people of different things that happened in their lives.

Getting to work was easy for Hadeel, and it was almost a bit of an escape when compared to what she had to deal with during the day, and with her friends. The smooth brush strokes, the smell of acrylic edging up her nose, small smears of paint on her face when she forgot it was on her hand, and the silence that meant everyone else was also absorbed in their work. With only twenty minutes left in the class Hadeel started to clean up as she would need to allow her paint to dry before she tried to transport it anywhere.

Her teacher walked around the room aimlessly, as she always did; making comments on pieces of work that she might like, and questioning others that she thought needed some work, or a lot of work in some peoples case. Finally she got over to where Hadeel was situated, seeing her bizarre piece with darkness and light she stared at it for a few seconds before speaking to her student.

"What are you aiming for here?" She asked motioning towards the small amounts of white in the otherwise dark picture. Hadeel thought about it for a second before glancing from the teacher to her art once more.

The women always looked like an old sort of rag, with dirty looking grey brown hair, and very visible bags under her eyes it was hard to pick something to focus on when looking her in the face. She always dressed a little clumsily, clothes that didn't match, pants that were two short, and shirts that she wore inside out. An intriguing person, definitely, but for some reason Hadeel just felt the need to imagine what exactly made her so tired all the time, and if she closed her eyes and picked clothing she felt was right for that day. All in all her art teacher was an odd person.

"I don't exactly know what it is, but for some reason it feels calming. Like it reminds me of a dark memory that got better over time," Hadeel said letting her heart do the talking before her brain took over. "I think it's cool," she mumbled making an odd face. "Except for the fact that I don't know what it is," she said under her breath.

"What?" Her teacher asked looking at her curiously. Hadeel simply shook her head and left the odd expression on her face. "Well I like it, it's not abstract, nonrepresentational is more what I'm feeling right now," she explained glancing over at Hadeel every few seconds.

"Yeah," Hadeel murmured looking away from her teacher. It was a funny thing to think about when the teacher was standing next to her, but all the other students agreed that their art teacher smelled a little odd sometimes.

_Like alcohol._

After someone said that they all had to agree that it was that smell, which was weird because their teacher was never drunk, or even had a hint of being hung over for any reason, she just smelled like beer. Thinking about it now Hadeel had to hold back at small smile as her teacher continued talking.

"I like the colors; do you think you could use some more warm colors?" She questioned going over the layout of the picture.

"I don't want to," Hadeel grumbled in a silly voice. She had had this teacher for one term already so she knew her well enough that she wouldn't get angry if the students decided to voice their own opinion, it was their art after all.

"I know you don't want to, but can you try?" She pushed staring at Hadeel.

"Maybe," Hadeel finally said with defiant expression. She wasn't going to, her teacher knew that but at least she had somewhat agreed to thinking about it, though at the same time she wasn't going to think about it either.

"Good girl," she laughed before walking away to look at someone else's work.

Sometimes it was very frustrating working with a teacher that always wanted to change so much about her students artwork, telling them that it looked wrong or it wasn't dark or bright enough. Last term she had almost made a girl cry when she repeatedly told her that her piece needed more work, of course the girl also got mad pretty easily, but it was still a little intense. Hadeel herself listened to what her teacher had to say, even if she didn't apply any of it to her work, sometimes her teacher was right but most of the time, it just felt wrong.

"Okay clean up, I need you out of here in ten minutes," her teacher said to the whole room.

Since Hadeel had already cleaned her table and put everything away she simply picked up her portfolio, her messenger bag, and her still wet painting and walked out of the room and into the cold dark air of night time. The art classroom was more or less built in the side of the building, so the door that you left through was connected to the outside.

Feeling that she had to wait until her painting was dry before going home she went up the steps into another building that had long hallways with tables and chairs at the end of each one. Walking down one hallway she got to the end of it to see that her friend was sitting alone at a table playing some sort of game on her phone. When she saw that Hadeel was there she smiled up at her and gave a mumbled hello before speaking further.

"No art class today?" She questioned hitting a sour note with Hadeel.

"Got out early, if I hadn't had class at all I would be gone, you should know that," Hadeel commented blandly.

"Well sorry, it's not like I had the class for very long," she snapped back suddenly.

Hadeel was surprised by the tone in her voice and felt the need to retaliate with a comment of her own, but she didn't. Letting the small pause of silence quiet down her mind she placed her portfolio against the table that her friend was sitting at, she wasn't sure if she wanted to sit down with her or not yet.

"That class sucked anyway," she mumbled softly.

This made Hadeel freeze, her heart twisted painfully as she tried to figure out how to respond so that nothing more would come out that was awkward. Why had the class sucked? Was it because Hadeel was the friend that she had taken it with? Was there something about Hadeel that made the class boring or uninteresting?

"Why did it suck?" Hadeel asked feeling her jaw clench and her eyes harden as they always did when she felt like crying.

"I don't know, it was just boring, I wasn't having any fun," she explained looking back down at her phone.

"I told you that it was going to get better, we could have had fun together," Hadeel said letting her emotions get the better of her. It wasn't often that this happened, that Hadeel would say what she had been thinking about for weeks and weeks, it just wasn't like her. So when it did happen, her friends didn't know what to say and usually retaliated as if they were the victim and Hadeel was the one in the wrong.

"Well it didn't," she said bitterly.

With that being said Hadeel picked up her portfolio and started to walk away from her friend. She didn't want to deal with everything that would spew out of her mouth if she stayed near the girl any longer, she was angry now. Nothing good comes out of one's mouth when their angry, mostly hurtful words, or bitter truths that they are afraid to admit to themselves.

"Where are you going?" She questioned calling after Hadeel.

"You ditched me for a guy, so I'm going to ditch you," she said letting her face become cold and emotionless.

Her friend didn't say anything else to her, because it was true, she had a guy that she liked who was taking Portuguese, and she figured that Hadeel wouldn't care if she dropped the art class in order to take the language class with him. In truth she hadn't cared whether or not Hadeel would mind, she hadn't thought about Hadeel at all.

Hadeel continued to walk down the hall towards a different group of tables, placing her portfolio against one of the chairs and dropping her messenger bag on the floor she placed her painting on the table before sitting down. A mangled breath escaped her mouth as she slumped forwards onto the table; a resonating pain tortured her right kidney. Reminding her that she needed to take her medication if she wanted the pain to go away, but she didn't care at the moment, she was going to get surgery soon anyway.

With that thought entering her mind Hadeel frowned and pulled out a small container filled with pain killers, this would be the third surgery that she would have for her kidney. She'd have to go to the hospital again, spend a couple days lying in a bed while she imagined laughing and telling stories with her friends that weren't there. She'd need to give her teachers the doctor's note that excused her from any tests or other activities she might miss.

The biggest thing that bothered Hadeel was that she hadn't told anyone about it yet, of course her family knew, but she elected to not tell any of her friends that she was going to the hospital. She didn't want to tell them because she had a feeling that they wouldn't care, most of the time her words fell on deaf ears. Not that they were deaf, it was just that they felt their problems and worries were more important than anyone else's, but isn't that how everyone is?

Regardless of thinking that way Hadeel knew that she would end up in the hospital, hooked up to an IV that would send her morphine when she needed it, and propped up against a pillow as if she was comfortable. When really her thoughts would be plagued with memories of white walls, sleepless nights, and bodies covered with blankets. No one would visit her even though they said that they would, and they wouldn't care.

Hadeel had to wonder what she would say to her friend when they saw each other again on Wednesday, would they talk like normal? Or would Hadeel be ignored?

Grumbling to herself about being too depressed she pulled out her laptop and checked her email before opening a word document and starting to write a paper about a story she had read in English. The story had been about a woman who thought her husband had died and how she got through the terrible crushing emotions of sadness and despair. In the end it had been false information, her husband was alive, she had such joy in her heart that she had a heart attack and died, and so the story ended.

Everyone in class had looked up at the teacher with appalled looks on their faces, but she simply smiled and told them to write why they thought the woman might have done different if she had been told a few days later and not the same day that her husband was alive. Hadeel herself thought the story was a little messed up, but all in all it just made her sad. It reminded her of people that had died in her family, how she had forgotten about them so easily, eventually her mind circled back to feeling that she was just an awful person.

It had already been an hour since she started writing, the paper had to be six pages and Hadeel had run out of things to say that made sense on the third page. Even with the double spacing she couldn't make up for the fact that her mind felt like an emotional sack of jelly.

So she shut her laptop and tried to think about happier things, like vacations, reading a good book on a rainy day, or the feeling of a scalding cup of hot chocolate between cold hands.

"I just want to be ok, be ok, be ok," her voice started out softly. It was a simple song by an artist that she loved, and the words felt just right to sing at the moment, as if just singing the song to herself would help her get better. "I just want to be ok today," she said before repeating the same words again.

She didn't know that someone was walking towards her back; even the soft thump of his heavy footfalls didn't stir her from her song. Perhaps it was because she was still mournful over everything that was worrying her or the fact that she really hoped the song would lighten her heart and make her _ok._ She didn't notice the man until he spoke.

"What a lovely song," a familiar voice said to her.

Looking at him suddenly Hadeel felt something in her hitch and stop working; her eyes seemed to be glued to his face which had a mask covering his mouth. All she could see were his eyes; a hardness that she could not explain seemed to dwell within his orbs as he stared down at her. The mask was definitely made of some sort of metal, or at least that was what she guessed, with tubes that looked like teeth it gave him a sort of wicked grin. Looking like some of the monsters that she liked to draw on her math notes.

The man himself was massive in size, greatly towering over Hadeel's small form she couldn't help but feel tiny under his gaze. As if she was a hobbit and he was Gandalf or Aragorn, her mind couldn't help but compare the two of them like that. It seemed as if everything about him was muscle, she could imagine him punching another man and having him blast through a wall like in a cartoon.

"Do I frighten you?" He asked in the same voice she had been thinking about since that rainy night.

"Do you want to?" She countered with a question, just like she had the other night. "I like your face thing," she commented looking at it again.

"Thank you," he said staring at her strangely blue eyes.

Hadeel had no words that entered her mind in order to continue the conversation; she'd never seen a man like him before, it almost seemed as if his muscles wanted to escape from beneath his jacket. If anything he reeked of power and strength, things that Hadeel had always wished she possessed.

"Why do you sing, little Songbird?" He asked watching to see what her reaction would be.

Hadeel looked at the man with a quizzical expression at first, was he calling her a Songbird? No one had ever commented on her singing before. Her sister Margo was always so much better than her at singing, she had a clear strong voice. Hadeel's own breathy soft voice was nothing compared to that of her sister, even Alana's voice was more powerful compared to hers.

"Are you not going to answer?" He questioned bitterly.

Hadeel looked away from the man then; the way he spoke made her assume that his questions were to be answered right away and that he was not one to be kept waiting. But at the same time Hadeel didn't want to answer, it felt like she was getting swept up into the rhythm that the man lived by every day. She liked hearing his voice though, when he spoke she couldn't help but feel the need to answer.

"I sing when I'm sad or when I'm bored," she answered glancing at the man before looking away again.

"And are you sad right now?" The man pressed her.

She didn't know why she was talking to such a mammoth of a man; normally people would sit down and talk with her because she was sitting with her other friends. Not many people sought her out just to speak with her alone. Now that there was a person who was only speaking to her she felt weird, especially since they were talking about her voice, which she had no confidence in. If she answered truthfully would she burden this stranger with her worries and fears?

"No," she answered looking him in the eyes.

As a person who always lied and told everyone she was okay Hadeel had become amazing at hiding everything away from everyone, even people who claimed they could tell when anyone was lying couldn't catch her. But it was not something to be proud of, it meant that no one ever knew she was in pain, that she was sad, that she needed help, and couldn't bear to be alone. Lies have their price, and she was always paying for them.

The man in front of her was silent for a few moments before he began to ever so slowly move towards Hadeel, she looked at him oddly and moved away slightly. His eyes were hard with anger and bitterness, obviously that had not been the answer that he had been expecting.

"Liar," his voice bit out at her.

At that moment Hadeel felt like the man in front of her was different, as if her little lie had made something within him snap and crumble away. She felt the need to get away from the man, something within her screamed to run and escape, but she was curious, what did the man want with her anyway? Perhaps he was mocking her; Hadeel was no stranger to laughter aimed at one's heart. This caused the girl to stiffen and grow cold towards the man. Her sudden change in attitude made his eyes soften and grow curious.

"It doesn't matter does it? It's not like we're good friends or anything," she laughed suddenly and smiled jokingly. "I don't even know your name," she added trying to get away from the subject of sadness.

"My name is Bane, little Songbird," his reply was quick and short. It almost sounded like he had been waiting for her to ask or hint at the fact that she didn't know it yet. Her face suddenly dropped at the mention of the name little Songbird again.

"Are you just going to call me little Songbird, Bane?" Hadeel wondered aloud before her eyes widened and she looked at him. He stared at her oddly for her expression was a little strange looking, as if she had just blurted out a secret and was making sure he would say nothing about it with just her face.

"What does your name mean?" He asked with what sounded like a smirk in his voice.

"It means to coo lik-," Hadeel stopped herself short before looking back at the man a little baffled. "How do you know my name?" She murmured a little suspiciously towards him. The man merely let his eyes smile at her, which made her all the more skeptical at who the man really was.

"Hadeel, Little Songbird," he said to her softly. "Do you not like your new name?" His voice turned cold while he asked this. Telling Hadeel that she better like her new name because otherwise something was going to happen and she wouldn't like it.

"New name?" She asked looking at him oddly. "What was wrong with the old one?" She murmured looking down at her bag.

She had yet to take the pain medication that they had given her; she'd meant to get up and get some water but never got around to it with Bane coming and all that other good stuff. Her jaw clenched and she set her eyes forward sternly before looking back up at Bane, if there was anything she was good at, besides lying, it was hiding her own pain and misery from others.

Even as she looked at Bane with her mask of emotions blocking out her pain she saw his eyes change slightly, making her panic briefly, if he had seen through her lie as if it had been made of paper would he also know what was going on with her now? Carefully Hadeel hid the pained expression that came with another wave of agony from her kidney.

As it goes, Hadeel has kidney stones, one of them is rather large and is currently blocking drainage, causing the kidney to swell, and it's currently almost twice as big as her left kidney. This causes her quite a bit of pain, although no one knows, because she never tells anyone. This had happened to her twice before, making her go to the hospital to get it surgically removed from her body, as she could not pass it due to the largeness of it.

"So what do you like to do?" Hadeel tried to change the subject before he could ask her what was wrong. He seemed so keen to want to know what was wrong with a person he had only just met.

"Why do you ask?" He questioned as his eyes went back to the same coldness as before.

"The keys," Hadeel explained. "I said I would give you a better thank you," she said reaching for her bag. "I don't know what you like, and it would be silly to give you socks and say; _here I bet you like socks, everyone likes socks_," she said earning a chuckle of amusement from Bane.

It was an odd sound that Hadeel had never expected to hear from the man, mostly because he had yet to do anything but ask her questions, which was making her feel slightly uncomfortable. It almost felt like he was prying through all her barriers and breaking down all her brick walls that she built around herself, and he wasn't even saying that much!

"When I figure out what I want, I'll tell you," he said keeping the laughter in his voice.

"It can't be overly expensive, and it shouldn't be something outrageous either," she said setting up guidelines for the man she barely knew.

"Just be patient little Songbird," he mused patting her head gently.

Hadeel froze at his touch; his hands were huge, much bigger than her own small hands that had stopped growing in seventh grade, furthermore he was patting her head like she was a child or something. Of course she was a great deal smaller than the man, so perhaps it was okay due to the fact that he could squish her just by sitting down.

Realizing she had been sitting down the whole time Hadeel finally stood up before taking tentative steps towards Bane, trying to figure out how tall she was standing next to him. The results were so saddening she slumped against the table and looked up at him again.

"What's your favorite color?" She asked trying to get back to more normal questions.

"Little Songbird," Bane chuckled again; Hadeel liked the sound of it. "Your questions are so worthless," he mused standing up fully to tower over her form again.

"You ask a question then," she countered feeling very much like a quarreling child.

"What is the medicine for?" He asked showing with his eyes that he could see the pills she had been hiding. Hadeel stiffened when he mentioned the pills she had grabbed and hid in her fist, slowly she opened her hand and let the small container of pills catch the light.

"See your questions aren't even in the same category as mine," she muttered feeling awfully exposed. When she turned to see he was still waiting for an answer from her she stared at the table in a bit of defeat. "I need them, okay?" She said shortly hoping he would drop the subject. "Why does it matter? This isn't important," Hadeel felt herself retreat back into her mind.

"It will be," Bane said simply.

His eyes were hard, as they had been for the majority of their conversation, if that is what you could call it anyway. Hadeel felt like it had been more of an assault against her person; she wanted to leave as quickly as she could now, this wasn't like any of the conversations she had had in a long time. She felt like crying, like Bane wanted to see her break, and she had to admit that he was good at what he did, asking all the right questions. He probably enjoyed watching her falter with her words.

"I have to go," She said coldly to him. Bane knew it was a lie but pressed no further, perhaps this was the extent of information that he would get from her for the night.

"I'll see you Wednesday, little Songbird," he whispered to her before walking in the opposite direction of her form. Hadeel watched him until he disappeared around a corner before she picked up her things and hurried towards her car. It was already nine and she needed to get home, she had to wake up early for work tomorrow, not that she wanted to go, she hated her job, but a job is a job.

Gently she put her portfolio in the back of her car before getting in the front seat, taking one last glance at the building she turned on her car and started towards home.

That morning she had been hoping that the day would not be another boring one as it usually was, she had expected to feel drained at the end of the day, and she hadn't expected to feel the way she was now.

030

Bane watched Hadeel's car until it drove out of his sight. Earlier he'd watched her for a good hour before he knew that she was a liar, that she for some reason didn't like her friend, and that she would fake her smiles when her mind wandered. Her name, Hadeel, meant to coo like a dove, and when he came to her again she was singing, like a little songbird, just as her name suggested.

Her voice carried through the long hallways of the building nicely, jumping off the walls until they landed on someone's ears who would then shrug and pretend like they hadn't heard anything. Bane couldn't help but notice the slight traces of pain in the girls face as she spoke to him at first, though he somehow knew that she wouldn't tell him what was wrong with her.

She didn't seem to appreciate the nickname, not that he cared, in Bane's eyes she was already something that he could touch and claim. At first he disregarded the encounter with the small college student, writing it off as one of the only normal things that happened to him in a long time. But then he felt himself being pulled towards the girl, their worlds were so different from each other, he wanted to know what would happen if he smashed them together.

The way she spoke made him angry and amused at the same time, this was the way she spoke to everyone, the way she lied to everyone, so he'd called her out on it. For some reason he hadn't been expecting her to lie to him, so when she had it made him irritated, he felt the need to bite back at her. Bane had to admit that the reaction he got was interesting to say the least, at first he thought that she would get angry and start yelling at him. The way her eyes grew cold and her face seemed drain of any sort of revealing emotion, he was sure that some shouting would follow.

And yet she smiled and laughed at him like nothing had happened, like he hadn't just broken her barrier of lies and everything was okay in the world again. He was surprised to say the very least, intrigued by the small form in front of him, she had found great strength in a world that seemed so trivial and meaningless to him. If she had been placed in his life, would she have turned out the same way? Or would her heart be blackened and dead just as his was?

He was curious now, and relentless in the questions he asked, picking certain ones that might set her off on the wrong foot, or pull her sense of security away. Every reaction he got from her was different from the ones that he had gotten previous, he didn't know what to expect from her at all. Bane was always so used to knowing what someone would do next, it was almost refreshing for him to be talking to Hadeel, for she was so different from him.

The comment about the socks and how everybody liked them made him chuckle before he could even stop himself, such trivial things like returning a favor, or giving a gift. Were these the things that clouded the minds of people like her? Of course not though, this was her kindness, the way she connected with other people, by making them laugh and smile. Her worries and restraints were things that she had hidden deep inside herself; such silly things like socks couldn't possibly be what she worried about.

So then what did she worry about? Certainly not whether a city would fall easily or not, or if the Batman would show up after so many years of hiding, she probably didn't think about the Batman at all.

Walking back towards his sewer hideout Bane decided that he was going to keep pecking at his little Songbirds protective shell until she cracked, and then all the gooey insides would be for him.

_"I just want to feel today, feel today, feel today. I just want to feel something today." **-Ingrid Michaelson**_

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**Time to go to work, blehh, nasty. Hope you liked this chapter, leave me a note on what you thought about it. The song used in this story is called 'Be Ok,' big surprise there.**

**Thank you for reading.  
**


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: This is probably the longest chapter I have ever written for any of my stories, so happy day for that. Here's the chapter.**

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_"I can't do it cause my life's a wreck." -**Foster the People**_

**Chapter Three**

Tuesday night Hadeel was sitting on the couch when her mother came home from work with a grumpy frown on her face. Hadeel's mother worked at a small private school just outside of Gotham, she always came home with tales of bad students and irritating teachers that made Margo, Alana, and their father laugh. Hadeel had grown rather tired of all the stories about how everything her mother did was wrong and that all her students were horrible little buggers and brats, she knew by now that her mother like to exaggerate.

She usually came home with some smear of an angry emotion on her face, today was no exception, as she had been required to stay after school for a meeting with some of the other teachers. She didn't really like any of the other teachers, and had once called them bitches and bastards, it was perhaps the only time that Hadeel had laughed out loud at her mother. As children Hadeel and her siblings had been told relentlessly that cursing was bad, even the remark _shut up_ had been frowned upon during her childhood. But as they grew older and her elder brothers started swearing like sailors everyone else began to loosen up a little bit. Hadeel had gone through a phase of cursing in high school, feeling that she had grown up and could use such words because of her age, the feeling of maturity didn't last long.

There was no point to use such words that might hurt someone carelessly, so she switched back to insults like _butthead_, _mean face_, and _garden hoe_. Mainly whenever she used these insults the other person in the argument would be so surprised by what she said it would cause them to lose interest and just laugh at her. Which was fine with Hadeel, as long as they weren't yelling at each other anymore.

What really bothered her was how freely her sisters cursed and screamed at her when they were angry; they didn't know the affect of their words and would carry on a few hours later as if nothing had happened. Despite being the elder sibling in the apartment her sisters never listened to Hadeel, so Hadeel, in turn, didn't listen to them either, or at least she tried to. Sometimes when they would curse at her she would promise herself that perhaps she wouldn't speak to Alana anymore to show her that she was angry. But that never lasted long, because Hadeel would realize that she really didn't want to show her sister that what she said had harmed her.

Regardless of this it was when Hadeel's mother and father cursed about things that it was funny, and her mother looked about ready to burst open and spills all her colorful words onto the carpet.

"How was work and the meeting?" Margo asked sitting down at the kitchen table. For some reason she liked their mothers stories the best, maybe it was because she could use some of the stories against the kids, since she was about the same age as most of their mother's students.

"You remember that one English teacher, Mrs. Darks?" Their mother questioned of them with an impatient look on her face.

"The mean one?" Alana asked coming into the kitchen suddenly.

"Yes, today she made me cover her class when she-," that was when Hadeel had heard enough and decided to walk away.

Her mother never had anything nice to say about Mrs. Darks, they had never even met the women and except for hearing about her from their mother they didn't even know the reason behind all her terrible behavior. Hadeel was never one to take someone's word for what something or someone was like, she wanted to find out for herself if someone was a real jerk or if they were going through a hard time.

It would be another hour before her father would get home and they would have dinner as a family, or separately depending on whether or not their father would come home angry or marginally happy. He worked at an insurance company in the city, doing claims for car accidents and other crashes, some days he came home happy, and some days he came home spitting mad. On the days that he came home mad Alana, Margo, and Hadeel knew to stay away from him, because he could be mean and hurtful, targeting anyone that passed his line of sight.

Going to her room silently Hadeel opened the door and walked in to smell the scent of her favorite candle that she had lit when she got home from work, she usually left it on for about an hour so the smell would linger for a few days. Closing her door with a sigh she went over to her desk to blow it out before she completely forgot about it. Taking a book from her bookshelf she turned on her laptop and went to her saved music file, selecting a track called Rainstorm she plugged it into her speakers and went to lay on her bed.

It was a calming thing that Hadeel liked to do. The speakers were old and couldn't play base notes to save its life, and one of the speakers had blown out and was terribly soft when it played music but Hadeel didn't care. As long as the sound of rain and the occasional thunder filled her room she was happy.

Trying her best to bury her thoughts into her book Hadeel sighed when once again her thoughts went towards Bane and the conversation they had had the day before. Even when she had been at work her thoughts were consumed with him, his voice echoed in her head while his cold eyes made her frown and shiver at the memory. It had been a long time since someone had called her out on her lies and known when she was telling the truth or not, and he had picked her apart like she was nothing.

This made her angry and confused, and yet she couldn't help but feel that something was pulling her back towards the man. She wanted to talk to him again, to see him again. Perhaps it was the simple fact that someone knew that she _had_ lied that gave her this feeling, and that _he_ had known. It made her feel as if she was less alone, but at the same time she never felt as lonely as she did right now as she thought about him. It was a strange feeling, something that made Hadeel cringe and want to get away from, save that she had nowhere to go.

Picking up her book again she tried to read a couple more pages, but her eyes were unfocused and the words started to blur as a small wave of pain washed over her mind and body. This caused her to flinch and drop the book right onto her face as she had been holding it right above her head. Feeling angry at herself and at the book as well she threw it on the ground.

"Stupid book," she growled letting the noise escape her throat.

Her phone vibrated on the table next to her bed with a numb sounding noise, she rarely left the thing on because the battery would die and she would forget to recharge it, but she was waiting for a text from a coworker so she'd left it on. Grabbing at the device she opened the message to see that it was her friend, the one that she'd left the day before, it was a simple message that merely said _hi._

Glaring at her phone she put it back on the table and got into a sitting position on her bed, she didn't want to talk to her right now or at all for that matter. She was still angry at her for not understanding that Hadeel was angry with her, but perhaps that was more Hadeel's fault than hers. How can one blame someone for not knowing something when one acts as if nothing has happened and everything is fine? And yet Hadeel was still hopeful that there would be someone that would be able to tell when she was upset, that someone would know even when she was trying her best to hide it.

But there was no one like that.

Even when there was a boy she liked, and he seemed to like her back she couldn't believe him when he said that she was not worthless and that she was cute. For there were times when her sisters would whisper under her breath how worthless and ugly she was, of course it was out of anger, but there are some things one just doesn't forget. So when he tried to get close to her and care for her, she'd pushed him away, and that's what she did to everyone else who asked her how she was. Every day she was fine, maybe a little tired or frazzled, she was never sad, or angry, or bitter about anything.

Hadeel had created such a good mask to hide who she was that she had become the mask, and now no one knew the real her, she wasn't even sure if she knew the real her. It was fine though, everything was always fine.

As another stab of pain flowed through her veins a knock sounded at her door, Hadeel went over to her laptop and paused the rain before a voice started to speak to her.

"Next Tuesday you'll be hanging out in a hospital bed, doesn't that make you feel weird?" Her mother's voice asked from outside the door.

Hadeel froze for a second, her mind suddenly flashing back to the memory of white walls and the putrid smell of medicine. The never ending sound of wheels going down the hallway as nurses pushed new patients to their rooms and old ones somewhere else, the feeling of cold morphine stretching through her vein and up her arm. The memory of blood loss and dead bodies.

Closing her eyes tightly Hadeel held back a few tears that started to form beneath her eyelids; she hated that place, that building.

"Yeah," she responded feeling empty. "It sure does," she muttered letting her voice fade out at the end.

"Everyone's eating their own food tonight, so don't forget to make something for yourself," she said before Hadeel could hear her footsteps going down the hall.

Her voice got tight for a moment as she slumped against her desk trying to ignore the pain that came from her kidneys.

"I don't want to go back there," Hadeel whispered to herself softly.

She didn't eat anything that night, after talking to her mother through the door Hadeel didn't even leave her room again, her mind was plagued with thoughts and memories of the hospital and of Bane. Would he be there tomorrow like he had said he would? Again she questioned herself as to whether or not she cared, she still very much enjoyed his voice, and the way he spoke, asking all the questions she didn't want to answer. What question would he ask next?

030

Due to reoccurring and crucial pain Hadeel had a restless night of sleep, if one could even call what she had spent the night doing sleep, for it seemed that she woke up every twenty minutes and tired to go back to sleep. She felt awful that morning, and her father had suggested that she stay home from school but she merely shrugged off that idea, she was going to miss school when she had surgery so she wouldn't take a day off because she hadn't gotten any sleep. Her body would just have to deal with the fact that she wasn't going to give up and stay home.

In her first class of the day, which was a math class, one of Hadeel's friends asked if she was okay, Hadeel just smiled and reassured her friend that she was just having a bad morning, when her friend tried to pry further Hadeel asked her how her morning had been. That got her to change the subject and soon the class was filled with nothing but the constant drone of the math professor in the front of the room.

Hadeel felt awful, she'd taken her pain medication and yet it had done nothing to nullify the constant agony that she was in; she hadn't eaten anything that morning because she felt that if she did it would come back up in a nasty way. Hadeel had to agree that sometimes when she felt sick and felt like vomiting the best thing to do was to vomit and get it over with, but she never liked the vomiting part of it.

Her next class was Sociology, where she sat in the back of the room with another one of her friends, this time the girl next to her didn't seem to notice that Hadeel was feeling overly horrid. Probably because Hadeel was doing her very best to hide it because she simply did not want to answer any more questions about what was happening.

She got through her next class just fine as well, taking sleepy notes that turned into a drawing of Ammit the devourer from Egyptian religion. When that class ended Hadeel walked lazily down the stairs and looked to see if her group of friends were sitting at the same table they were at every day, only one of the group was there. Hadeel smiled at the guy and explained that she needed to get something from her house and would see them again on Monday; she then walked out into the cold and towards the other building.

She didn't need to go home, she just didn't want to sit down at a table and pretend to be happy today, because she really wasn't happy at all today. Her body was screaming at her to eat and rest, and yet she was at school teetering though her classes and doing her best to ignore the pain that threatened her whenever she breathed. Another part of it was that the friend that she had ignored would be sitting at the table and she really didn't want to deal with that matter right now, not that she ever wanted to deal with it, but just not today. Not when she was already feeling like crap.

First Hadeel dropped off her stuff in the art room, even though class didn't star for another hour and a half students could still leave their stuff in the room until it was time for class. Art people are usually good about the fact that they don't mess with other art people's stuff, so it was okay to leave bags and portfolio's in the room. Already one of her classmates was in the room and working on something, which made Hadeel a little befuddled, she liked art, but not that much.

Walking down the steps to a more secluded part of the other building Hadeel opened the doors and wandered inside towards the tables, if there was anything that the college had a lot of it was chairs and tables. People have to sit down and do their homework, and compared to almost everything else chairs and tables are cheap, so why not have a bunch of them.

Carefully Hadeel sat down at one of the tables, there was no one else in the vicinity so she felt as if she could relax a little bit and stretch about if she needed to. The only bag she still had was a small green one that was supposed to be for a gasmask but recently she had replaced the mask with her medicine and art supplies. Taking the bag out onto the table she started to collect some spit into her mouth before she took another pain killer in the hope that it would numb some of the pain in her side. The awkward feeling of a pill going down her throat made Hadeel shiver, she hated taking pills, after surgery she would have to take a handful of them every day.

Using the bag as a sort of pillow Hadeel let her head rest on the green fabric, the feeling of tubes of paint jabbing against her cheek was annoying and so finally she settled for her arm. A song found its way into her head and she couldn't help but feel the need to let it resonate through the area around her. Would it sound like it did when she was in the shower, or in her room?

"You look like you've been for breakfast at the heartbreak hotel," she started to sing through her arms as her head rested on the table still. Humming the next line of the song Hadeel felt a little dumb for not being able to remember it, she could never remember that line of the song. "Your waitress was miserable and so was your food," she sang letting her voice fill the empty space around her.

It was a nice sort of sound, to hear ones voice and to think that it sounded good, the softness of her voice was something that Hadeel had started in twelfth grade because she couldn't hit high notes when her voice was clear. So she'd developed her own sort of singing voice, one that was more breathy and shallow, she liked it enough to want to sing when she was alone.

"If you're gonna try to walk on water make sure you wear your comfortable shoes," she sang shifting her eyes around to make sure no one was watching or listening to her. "Woah-oh, Piledriver," for a moment her voice was loud before she remembered Monday and Bane. Suddenly frowning she remembered that he liked to call her little Songbird, and that he had patted her on the head like she was a small child who needed praise. He wouldn't find her singing today if she could help it. Remembering the whole conversation again Hadeel's mind was drawn back to when he said he'd tell her what he wanted in return for the keys when he figured it out. What could the man possibly want? Money? A new coat because he liked to collect them? Probably not a coat.

His masked face popped into her head as he had leaned forward towards her and called her a liar. That's right, she was a liar.

With that thought running though her mind Hadeel closed her eyes gently and let sleep consume her, her mind became blank with much needed rest as a man began to walk down the stairs towards where he had heard someone singing.

030

Bane had gotten to the college the same time as he had Monday, sneaking in without much notice he planned to watch Hadeel while she had her break before her last class, but she wasn't there. The table filled with her friends was the same except that she wasn't among them as she usually was. The laughter seemed to be the same, just as the smiles were, even without her lying smiling face there her friends moved on without her.

Grumbling to himself Bane walked back towards the stairs so he could leave the building, glancing out the window he saw a familiar figure walking into the same building he had met Hadeel in the other night. From the way she walked he could tell that she was tired, the sluggish way she took her steps and the slump in her form as she pulled open the door and disappeared inside. He'd wondered since Monday what the medicine she had could be for; of course there were a number of things that the medicine could be for. He would just have to figure out for himself because she would more than likely not tell him.

When Bane entered the building he walked towards the same table that she had been at the other night, seeing that she wasn't there he took careful steps, listening to see if his Songbird would call out to him. Walking past another set of stairs Bane stopped when he heard a soft voice fade out slowly, it was a different song a different melody, but the same voice, the same sound as his little Songbird.

She wasn't singing anymore when his eyes finally caught sight of her form a few minutes later, she had hid herself away in the back of the building, away from all the familiar faces that she knew or didn't know but still recognized. Feeling familiar questions rise in his throat he saw the slow breath intake and outtake of her body, telling him that she was sleeping, her head buried in her arms.

Going over next to her Bane saw the familiar orange color of a container of pills peaking out at him from inside a bag she was holding next to her. Feeling a bit of excitement rise within him Bane carefully grabbed the bag from her loose grip before taking it over to a different table a few feet from hers. Sitting down in a chair he slowly started to take the items out of the bag one by one until finally he had six tubes of paint, a bag of paintbrushes and pencils, and three orange containers of pills.

The first container read CIPROFLOXACIN, and had instructions that the patient take it twice daily for ten days, and that they should drink a lot of water while taking the medication. Bane knew this to be a type of antibiotic, for what, he didn't know, but at least he was getting some information about what was wrong with the girl. The next container of pills was called KETORLAC, the instructions being to take one tablet three times daily, it also said to drink a lot of water, a full glass. The last container of pills had a few different kinds of pills in it and no label, which didn't help him at all.

Ketorlac was a type of pain killer, Bane knew that much, it would explain the look of agony that she had been hiding away from him and all her friends for the past few days, perhaps she had another container of the pills. The one in his hands was almost empty. This information still didn't tell him why she needed the pills, another question to ask her maybe?

Staring over at the girl Bane saw that even in sleep her face twisted into an expression of pain, it was different to see that sort of expression on her face. In the few days that he had seen and observed her expression she made a point to always cover up anything that didn't look happy or silly, so this was new. If he watched his little Songbird for a long time would he get to see all her expressions?

030

Slowly Hadeel opened her eyes to see the expanse of floor and chairs in front of her, taking a few seconds to remember where exactly she was her brain suddenly clicked into place when she remembered that she had class. Taking out her phone quickly Hadeel turned it on and waited impatiently for it to show her what time it was. Widening her eyes in an odd sort of glare she growled when it took too long.

"Hurry up you piece of poo," she muttered irritated.

Finally her phone turned on and she saw that it was already 6:15pm, which meant that her class had started fifteen minutes ago and she had been sleeping for almost two hours.

Frantically she looked for her bag, grabbing it when she turned and saw it next to her; also catching a glance at Bane sitting at a table a few feet away from her she more or less ignored him in her frenzy. Suddenly turning towards him again she caught eyes with him to see that he looked very much amused.

"Oh hi Bane," she mumbled quickly before standing up. Finally her brain registered that he was there and all but jumped to turn at him. "When did you get here?" She asked in a bit of a shriek. Had he seen her sleeping like a bear in hibernation?

"Did you know that when you sleep your face gives off the expression of pain?" The man asked her simply. The question took Hadeel aback slightly, how was she supposed to know what she looked like when she was asleep?

"How would I know that?" She questioned in a bit of a sarcastic voice. Her face scrunched into an angry sort of expression that looked only silly in Bane's eyes.

"That's what the medicine is for isn't it?" He asked going back to the subject of medicine.

Walking away from Bane slightly Hadeel turned her head over her shoulder before responding to him in a stubborn but childish voice.

"Maybe," she muttered before looking forward again. "I'm late for class, buh bye," she called putting the bag across her shoulder before sprinting towards the stairs. What did he do? Take out all her pills and read everything that was on the bottle? No, that would be a little weird.

Right as she took her first stride up the step the front of her shoe caught the tip of the stair and she plummeted forwards and into the welcoming stairwell. Of course it hurt when she hit the concrete of the stairs, she just hadn't been expecting to hear a chuckle from behind her when she fell and barely caught herself with her arms. Her legs had still knocked against the stairs and caused her some pain but at least she was mostly okay.

Turning sharply towards Bane Hadeel glared darkly at him with nothing more than embarrassment on her face as she blushed darkly.

"Take your time, little Songbird, the world will not run off without you," he said earning a huff from Hadeel before she got up and ran off.

"What a butthead," she mumbled to herself.

Making it to class not two minutes later Hadeel smiled and checked to see if her teacher had even noticed, Hadeel couldn't tell because her teacher wasn't even in the room at the moment. No one had looked up when she opened the door; it seemed as if they didn't notice her at all. This made Hadeel slump slightly, did it matter if she even came to class at all?

Letting her crappy mood envelop her feelings Hadeel sat down and went back to her painting, today was supposedly the last day that they would get to work on them, and since she was pretty much finished with hers there wasn't much do to during the class. Feeling that a lot of time had gone by Hadeel looked up at the clock to see that it had only been an hour since she had been in class. Mumbled some angry words to herself Hadeel got up and walked around the room for a short time before decided that she was going to take a walk.

It was an odd sort of feeling for Hadeel, to suddenly feel as if the classroom was suffocating her, perhaps it was the fact that the pain in her side had not left her, or the fact that sadness suddenly plagued her heart. Either way Hadeel felt as if she could break down and weep. It was starting to happen more often now; feelings of immeasurable emptiness would collapse into her heart and make her feel as if everything she did was useless. She'd only told one person that she felt this way, that she felt as if her existence meant nothing to the world, and that person had shrugged it off as if it was a cold breeze.

But that was just it right? Everything that could have happened to her happened, her friend ditched her for a guy, she had to go to the hospital, and no one seemed to care. Of course Hadeel was used to this feeling so instead of wallowing in sorrow about it she swallowed the feeling like a hiccup and went back to counting her steps as she walked up the stairs.

She was a little curious about whether or not Bane would still be where she had run away from him, if it was her and she was waiting for someone for whatever reason she would have left a long time ago. Finding herself humming a song she used to play in high school Hadeel noticed herself marching to the beat of the melody, as if she was in marching band again. A smile of nostalgia crept across her face as she remembered how dorky she was when she played Oboe and saxophone in band class every year, there was always a place for her in t band. At least when she played Oboe that was, there were always too many saxophones.

Even with a happy memory clouding her mind Hadeel still found something to frown at, because even if Band had always had a place for her when she was in high school, as soon as she graduated someone else filled that spot. There was always someone else willing to fill an empty spot, because then it would mean that they had a place to belong.

Suddenly angry at herself Hadeel growled and turned around to go back to her classroom, surely Bane had already left and there was no point walking around a nearly empty building feeling sorry for herself. Going back outside Hadeel turned the corner to come face to face with someone she hadn't been expecting

"Good evening little Songbird," Bane said almost cheerfully as Hadeel more or less jumped out of her skin.

"Holy Moses, hiding behind the corner like a creeper," she exclaimed feeling her heart thud against her chest. "Scared the crap out of me," she muttered still trying to calm herself further.

Bane chuckled at her darkly; she could almost see the happy smile in his eyes as he was merely amused and not at all shameful by scaring her.

"Leaving class early?" He questioned staring down at her powerfully.

"I never leave class early, much less miss a day of school," she assured him as if he was a teacher.

"Never?" He questioned feeling that there was something missing from her confession.

"Unless someone in the family decides to die, or I'm in the hospital or something," she murmured glancing away from him suddenly. She was going to miss next Wednesday because of hospitalization, but he didn't need to know that, only her teachers had been told that information.

For a moment Bane seemed to be thinking about whatever she had said before he responded with another question that made Hadeel frown and answer without thinking about it too much.

"How does one decide to die?" He mused finding humor in what she had said.

"It's not hard to give up, not in this world," she answered in a softer tone that Bane had yet to hear from her.

For a moment his eyes seemed to be asking her something before his expression changed and he was once again the Bane she had gotten to know over the past days that they had spoken. Hadeel almost gasped when she realized that she had said that to him, he who was the master of asking her such questions that made her stiffen.

"Okay, I'm going back to class," she turned to go back to class quickly.

Within a second something latched onto her arm and yanked her backwards with force that made her forget about the pain in her side for a moment. Looking up Hadeel saw that Bane was staring down at her darkly, with bitterness in his eyes his gaze made her freeze. She was right up against his chest and could feel that there was some sort of armor or protective covering beneath his coat; she could imagine what his heart sounded like.

"Let me go," she muttered feeling vulnerable under his gaze.

"Did you give up?" His voice bit out at her icily. Hadeel looked away from his observant eyes, wanting to get away from his question, wanting to just run away all together, but he kept her at his side with a firm grip on her arm.

"It's none of your business," She spat back at him coldly. Usually she wasn't one to get angry, but for some reason the way he pried into her personal life without remorse pissed her off more than anything. People didn't care, they asked how her day was but really they just wanted to talk about their day, and their worries. Turning away from him she pulled at her arm, glaring at him when he didn't even budge, her angry eyes softened and became shameful under his livid gaze. She didn't understand why he looked so angry at her.

"Tell me," his voice was steady. It made her realize that he would wait until she said something valuable before he let go of her and let her walk away from him. His hand on her arm tightened painfully as she still tried to get away from him and his uncomfortable gaze."Hadeel," hearing her name come from him made her bite her cheek painfully.

Turning back towards him her face seemed to drain of any anger or bitterness that she might have felt moments before, her eyes still held an emotion that Bane couldn't quite place. Finally she looked up at him, a pathetic and depressed expression washing across her face she smiled at him ever so kindly. For a moment Bane seemed a little lost in what was happening, she always did the opposite of what he expected her to do.

"I hated myself," she said in a soft whisper.

Bane let her hand drop away from his, somehow he was satisfied with the answer, Hadeel didn't care either way, turning away from him she walked back towards class.

"Goodbye Bane. Have a good night," she called out to him before going around a corner and disappearing.

After that the rest of class went by really quickly, with her thoughts so preoccupied Hadeel felt detached from reality as she delved into her memories of what it was like at that time. There was still more to what Bane had been requesting of her, more that she hadn't told him, but what did she think of him? He had suddenly grabbed at her and forced her to tell him something that she had promised she would never tell anyone, threatened her with pain even. She could very well hate him for what he had just done to her, and yet she had no feelings of hate towards the man, even as her arm seemed to throb slightly.

She could only wonder what he had thought of her small confession, why had he even wanted to know in the first place? That was the main question that stuck to her mind, she barely knew the man, in fact she didn't really know anything about him at all, and she didn't even know if he liked socks.

When Hadeel got home from school her mind seemed to be in a flurry, if she continued to meet with Bane after school and during class would he make her reveal more awkward and imperfect things about herself?

030

Listening to the rush of the water in the sewers Bane thought about the way Hadeel had looked throughout the day, first there was the ever present expression of pain. Then there was the way her expression changed as she stood in front of him.

When she had spoken about giving up Bane felt himself grow bitter. One of the reasons why he had liked going to visit Hadeel was because he'd thought that perhaps there were parts of the city that were left untouched by the evil that ran through the streets. To him Hadeel was something clean and pure, but also something that had secrets and mysteries all to herself, he felt as if he was entering a different world when he spoke to her. Yet she had obviously had experience when it came to giving up, and so he had become angry, why had his little Songbird wanted to give up?

He hadn't wanted to be forceful with her, because he was sure that as soon as he showed that side of him she would run away from him and not look back, but he couldn't help himself. The way her small form pulled against his he was sure she could feel his anger in the air; she was supposed to be untainted by the city. So he wanted to know why she had given up, if it was something that had to do with the city he would find it.

Then she had smiled and looked at him so softly as if she might break, her eyes full of an emotion that unknown and yet terribly strong emotion that he didn't know.

And she told him.

_I hated myself._

Obviously there was a reason why she hated herself, but Bane had let her go, for he knew that she would say nothing else to him that night. She was angry with him and would probably avoid him if he came by again, he'd crossed the only line that he'd set for himself, and now he would have to wait.

But she had spoken to him; even after he'd grabbed onto her so suddenly and forced her to speak truth to him she bid him good night, her voice unwavering and suddenly strong. If it was her, would she turn and talk to him again?

_"Sometimes I want to disappear." -**Foster the People**_

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_****_**AN: ****I'm having to go through all the songs I know and any good poems or quotes to find lines that relate to the chapter. This song relates, and has a deeper meaning that will be explained as the story progresses, it's called Houdini, by Foster the People, as stated above, good song, good song.**

**Leave me a note, if you don't mind.  
**

**Thanks for reading.  
**


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: This one took longer to write, I got stuck half way through it, had a bunch of homework, studied for a test, yadda yadda. Enjoy.**

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_"How long can we ignore, we build a little more, and then we break our truth." **-Wake Owl**_

**Chapter Four**

When Monday rolled around Hadeel was absolutely dreading the next day and letting it show when she came into school that morning, one of her friends in her first class commented on it, asking if she was feeling alright. Immediately Hadeel scolded herself, smiling at her friend and explaining that she had a cold and was still getting over it, but wouldn't stay home from school because she didn't want make-up work. She then asked her friend how her weekend had been, and the topic of looking awful was forgotten.

Hadeel had run out of pain killers just yesterday and was feeling the full wrath of her kidneys as she tried to sit as comfortable as possible in math class, taking silent deep breathes in order to control herself. Finally the class was over and she went to her next class and the next class after that, and eventually she was sitting down with her friends, ignoring the fact that she had to sit next to a certain person. Feeling the negativity in the air Hadeel excused herself to the restroom, clawing at her side angrily as another wave of pain threatened to render her breathless and trembling.

If she really needed to she could go home right now, she'd taken her stuff to the car just in case she needed a quick getaway, and all she was carrying right now was a small bag with her art supplies in it. Hadeel made it to the front of the bathroom, right in front of the entrance before a jolt of pain made her lean agonizingly against the wall, it would probably be best if she just went home.

"Are you okay?" A voice behind her called. Turning to glance at whomever it was Hadeel sighed pitifully, her friend had followed her to the bathroom much to her dismay.

"I'm fine, just a cramp, I started my period this morning," she muttered suddenly remembering Bane. He would see right through that lie and pick her apart until her eyes were left vulnerable and bitter, but what would her friend say?

"Oh, that sucks," she responded looking away from her.

"Yup," Hadeel said coldly. Why couldn't anyone else tell if she was lying or not? And if they could tell why didn't they call her out on it?

"Are you still mad at me?" She suddenly asked. They were still standing in the hallway right in front of the bathroom, a few people walked by but not so much that Hadeel was going to feel awkward about this conversation.

"No," Hadeel lied with a smile on her face.

No matter how much she wished her friend would see through her lie she knew that it wouldn't happen, it appeared that only Bane knew when she was lying. Remembering the week before Hadeel absentmindedly traced her fingers over where he had grabbed onto her arm so roughly, she had been sure it would bruise, but it hadn't.

"Cool, because I have some stuff to tell you," she said letting a grin come out onto her face.

Hadeel wanted to yell at her, to tell her that she wasn't happy, that she had been hurt by what had happened and it wasn't just going to vanish without thought or memory. But she didn't say anything; she couldn't stay mad at her friends, perhaps because in a way they made her feel as if there was still something good in the world. Even with all the death, pain, and anger all around them they could still smile and laugh about small petty things and Hadeel needed something to laugh at.

"Well, I kind of have to, you know," Hadeel muttered motioning towards the bathroom with her head.

"Oh, yeah, I'll see you back at the table," she said before walking away with a small skip in her step. Hadeel watched her go resentfully, that girls head was always in the clouds and focused on things that didn't matter, and sometimes Hadeel couldn't help but feel a bit of hate towards her.

Finally going into the bathroom Hadeel got over to the sinks, grabbed some paper towel, and soaked it with cold water before placing it on her forehead and arms, sighing at the temperature of it. Looking up into the mirror Hadeel saw that she was a little pale even in the lightness of the bathroom, she looked sicklier now than when she had left her house that morning.

"I'm going to go home," she said to herself in the mirror. Nodding to herself she frowned before walking out of the bathroom and away from her friends. The least she could do was go into art class early and tell one of the other students to tell the teacher that she had been feeling very sick, that would be considerate at least.

Feeling a little bad for just leaving her friends again she took out her phone and texted one of them, telling him that she was feeling like she was going to throw up and was going home. He texted back a moment later with a frown and a simple, _see you Wednesday, hope you feel better_, but Hadeel was not going to be there Wednesday. Mumbling something to herself Hadeel stalked down the hallway and opened the door to the outside, feeling the cold air on her skin was a bit of a relief. Taking a deep breath Hadeel wandered towards the art room, heaving huge sigh of relief when she saw that one of her classmates was indeed working on something.

A quick smile and explanation saw Hadeel out the door in a flash, making it only a few steps when another awful wave of pain brought her against the wall gritting her teeth angrily. Grumpily she pulled herself around a corner and behind the building, letting herself slide down the wall. The pain had never been this bad before, of course she had never run out of pain killers before or had as many stones as she had in her kidneys. A lot of firsts happening and all she could do was find a comfortable position on the ground until the pain seemed to lessen and dull inside her body.

Gulping down the cool air Hadeel almost whimpered at the sheer amount of pain she was feeling, her aunt had kidney stones as well as two kids and she had told Hadeel that kidney stones was almost as painful as giving birth. Hadeel's mother joked about how Hadeel would probably have the most kids as the pain would be so familiar to her she could ignore it, but perhaps that was the only positive thing that could come of kidney stones.

Feeling a little helpless just laying on the ground behind a building Hadeel's face scrunched into a more depressed expression, how was she going to get home if she could barely move?

Ignore it.

Her brain cried out to her; ignore it as she always did. She could make it to her car at least, and then she could drive home and be in a place where no one would be able to see the agony in which she suffered. Gritting her teeth against the stabbing feeling in her side Hadeel pulled herself to her feet and started to walk around the backside of the building, regardless of needing help she didn't want anyone to see her, not like this. Forcing the feeling back down her throat Hadeel pulled a song from her lungs, one that she had always like the chorus of, but never cared for the rest of the song, the singer was kind of weird.

"Shot a rabbit from the backseat window, sat and watched the summer corn grow," her voice came out strong right away. She was sued to this by now, pretending she was okay, compelling her voice to overcome the pain she felt, and to smile like she had just heard a funny joke. "Ate ice cream in a dessert dream, and got love in father seeing you. Too hot inside, too hot outside, lazy days when you said lets go for a ride," near the end of the verse Hadeel's voice seemed to shake.

There was too much of a strain on her throat as she forced herself to breathe normally and hide away everything that she was feeling.

"Dangit," she muttered bitterly. "I was doing so well," she whimpered letting her body fall onto the concrete again.

By now the sun was going down, so Hadeel was at least a little happy that she was able to watch the sunset from her seat on the ground, she had always liked looking at the clouds. It's hard to explain exactly how kidney pain feels, perhaps it is like when one breaks a bone, or stubs one's toe, except that it does not leave when one continues walking or when it is left alone. It's a constant radiating pain that seems to vibrate with anger when one tries to move.

"We'd sail on spirit lake, me my pappy and his lemonade," she sang out confidently. At least she had been able to finish the verse of the song; she liked the way the lyrics sounded with the melody, even if she couldn't do it justice.

Leaning her head back against the wall Hadeel closed her eyes and took deep controlled breaths that reminded her of the breathing exercises they used to do in band before starting early morning rehearsal sometimes. How long had it been since she'd smiled like she had in band class? Happy to just be able to play her part correctly or to hear the music that she and her classmates could create, it had been at least a year and a half.

"Won't someone save me," she sang in a sort of whisper. "Doesn't anyone care," her voice trailed off softly. Sometimes Hadeel would imagine that her life was a musical and sing about silly things like making pancakes in the morning and how she had spilled some on the floor, like how they did in movies. This was a different matter, but sometimes she would sing about what she really wanted to say, what she held back and never asked anyone or even mentioned.

No one would save her, not when she always pushed them so far away from her.

Suddenly hearing footsteps Hadeel listened intently for the familiar sound of breathing and heavy footfalls, when the sounds found her ears she smiled and put her head back against the wall, her eyes still closed and shut off from the world.

"I know those steps, that breathing, those sounds," she said loudly enough for the man to hear. "That voice," she whispered to herself softly.

"Why are you on the ground little Songbird? Have you lost your wings?" Bane asked stopping next to the girls form. Hadeel smiled softly at the man's words, keeping her eyes closed she left a more peaceful expression on her face.

"I lost them a long time ago," she murmured breathing out a deep painful sigh.

"Are you ill?" He asked letting his voice ring out.

Hadeel simply smiled again, finally opening her eyes to look at the man that more than towered over her now, he looked nothing less than a giant as he stood above her. His eyes looked the same, cold, emotionless, hard, and determined, but the way his voice sounded Hadeel couldn't quite place what she heard. Perhaps worry?

"I'll be fine soon," she explained. Soon meant tomorrow, but no one at the school knew that save for her and her teachers, and even if Bane threatened her like he had last time she would not tell him. "Just need to get to my car," she muttered glancing over at the parking lot. It was still pretty far away by her standards at the moment, merely a two minute walk, but that could possibly be a ten minute stagger in her current condition. "Get home," she added.

"Will you be less ill at home?" He questioned her shortly. Hadeel had a feeling he already knew the answer to the question, how could being home make any difference in the means of unrelenting pain?

"Not really, but at least I can lock the door," she said with a small laugh up at him.

"And you will deal with this illness alone," he stated. Hadeel wasn't sure if it was a question or if he was just thinking out loud, or whatever, but he hit it right on the dot.

"This kind of thing," Hadeel grunted trying to look less sick in front of him. Pulling herself to her feet and using the wall as support she adjusted the bag on her shoulder before doing her best to look him in the eyes. "I'm always alone," her reply was simple and short. Taking a few steps forward she strode towards the parking lot carefully, not wanting to set off anymore pain in her side.

Just as she was about to pass Bane he put an arm in front of her, letting his hand rest on her shoulder he stared down at her a little angrily. She held his gaze for a few seconds before looking away and trying to get around him, but his hand on her shoulder felt like a huge weight holding her in place. There was no shake in his grip, the way his arm stopped her movement one would think there was a wall in front of them.

"You can barely stand," he declared watching her tremble and shake.

"But," she said holding up one of her fingers. "I am standing, that is an improvement," she grinned up at him like a child. His eyes darkened at her comment as if he was becoming trouble and livid at her replies to him.

"You won't be able to make it to your car little Songbird," he commented holding her eyes in his overpowering gaze.

"Oh?" She questioned feeling something fun and silly arise in her suddenly.

She hadn't noticed it before but when she spoke to Bane there was a bit of lightness that came into her being, a feeling she hadn't felt for a long time. Not since her father would hold her close during scary movies, it was a feeling she missed without realizing it. There was also something about his questions that made Hadeel want to tell him the answers, the sudden urge had puzzled her and so she'd chosen to go against it. Why should she tell this man everything, wasn't he just like everyone else? As for now she was having a bit of fun, it felt like she was playing keep away, except this time she was keeping herself away instead of a toy.

"That feels like a challenge, I'm going to make it now," she nodded letting determination flood into her eyes. "Watch me," she whispered up at him.

At first Bane made no move to change anything that he was doing, Hadeel was obviously suffering from some sort of pain or illness, he had a feeling that if he let her go right now, he would just have to pick her up again later. But the look in her eyes as she stared up at him made him think otherwise, for there was strength in those orbs that he had never seen her hold before.

"I will not pick you up when you fall," he said removing his hand from her shoulder. The tremble in her body seemed to have vanished along with the tremble in her stride as she began to walk forward.

"Didn't expect you to," she said before making her way to her car slowly. There was always an outstanding feeling that came with defiance, like seeing a sign that says does not walk on the grass, of course one would want to stomp on that grass at much as possible.

The same could be said for Hadeel, as soon as Bane said she wouldn't be able to make it to her car she felt darn well obligated to make it to her car by any means necessary. Gritting her teeth bitterly she trudged through the pain and was only a few steps from her car when she pretty much tripped over her own feet and started to plummet towards the ground. Ready for impact she had to say she was more than surprised when a strong arm stopped her from smashing her face into the pavement. It felt very much like the arm that had prevented her from leaving the other night, but somehow it felt more sensitive and caring.

Looking up Hadeel smiled sheepishly when she saw that Bane was more than glaring down at her, he seemed a little too livid for Hadeel's standards, what was he so mad about anyway?

"If you had asked me for help, I wouldn't have said no," he said placing her feet back onto the ground carefully. Still he left his arm around her stomach protectively and powerfully, feeling that she might somehow break if he let her off to go on her own again.

"That's awfully kind of you, very cool," she grinned patting his arm gently. "But the thing is," she paused making an expression as if she had been caught stealing food. "I never ask for help," she said with laughter in her voice. "And no one ever helps me anyway," she muttered under her breath with a playful expression.

Bane was a little puzzled by what she said to him, someone as weak and fragile as her never asked for help? Impossible, she had to have someone that cared whether or not she returned home. She was so bright and careful with how she treated other people, always laughing, smiling, even in her pain she got through it with fake happiness. There had to be someone waiting for her to get home.

And yet he could feel that there was no one for her, because where would her pain come from if she had someone waiting for her when she got home? Why would she have such sadness lurking beneath her lies if she had someone who cared for her? No, there was no one waiting for her to get home.

"Can you move your arm? My car is right there," she complained glancing back at him. "Why are you so big and strong?" She questioned him grumpily. As if it was his fault that she was wimpy and worthless when it came to fighting. "It's not fair," she murmured.

Pulling his arm back to his side Bane let the girl go, watching as she unlocked her car and sighed when she finally sat down in the old vehicle with a groan.

"Fly carefully, Little Songbird," Bane said before walking away quickly. "See you Wednesday," he called back to her.

Hadeel smiled faintly to herself before staring her car, he wouldn't see her Wednesday, and no one at school would see her at all for at least a week. She had her surgery tomorrow, so she would miss Wednesday, and the next Monday was a day they had off, so she would perhaps be back to school the following Wednesday. Faintly she wondered if Bane would come back to see her after she had been gone all that time, probably not.

030

The next day Hadeel was at the hospital early in the morning, looking disgustingly at the white walls that plagued her mind so much, the familiar smell of the too clean building made her want to vomit, she hated this place.

Soon it didn't matter what her feelings of the building were, the cold air met her skin after she changed into one of the dreaded hospital gowns, and the revolting feeling of cold liquid creeping up her veins was present before her world turned black. When she next woke up her vision was blurred and foggy, looking around faintly she could tell that there were a couple nurses by her bed, checking whatever they needed to check. For a moment her eyes stopped at the back of the room when she thought she saw a bed covered in a blanket, she wanted to gasp and cry out, not again, why was she seeing this again?

She hadn't even realized that she had fallen back asleep, it could have been for mere seconds or hours, she didn't know, there was no way to know, she was in the room still, with nurses and doctors milling around. The bed was gone; the blanket covered body had been moved. Did someone die?

When she woke again she was back in her hospital room, glancing over at the other patient in the room she took a shaky breath that came out as a choked sob, she was scared. The memory of the blanket covered body always scared her, because whoever it was that had died had been forgotten by the world, his unknown form plagued her dreams and stole countless nights of sleep.

Glancing around the room frantically Hadeel looked for someone she knew, anyone she knew, but she remembered that her parents had work and she had told them she would be okay alone. Of course she had been hoping they would see through her lie, but they hadn't, and so she was alone in the room with a stranger of a patient sleeping next to her.

Feeling around her back Hadeel found the surface of a bandage that covered the smoothness of the tube that was sticking out of her back and into a draining bag. Immediately a sad bitterness crept into her heart as she felt immensely sorry for herself, she was alone, in a place that she hated, with no one to smile at her and ask if she was okay. Of course there was no one to blame but herself as she hadn't told anyone but her teachers of her surgery, and she had insisted to her parents that she would be okay.

Hadeel's face twisted into an expression of sadness before she brought her hands weekly to her face, feeling her eyes well up with tears she took a choked breath before sobbing softly. It was her fault that she was alone, and she hated herself for it.

030

The next day was Wednesday and Hadeel didn't feel like talking to anyone, still in the hospital she had spent the night alone and without sleep, feeling the aftermath of the surgery with no one to cling to but herself. The curtain that separated Hadeel from the other patient was still present, she could see nothing of the other person who was a resident in the room, and she didn't even know what the person looked like. If it was a girl or a boy, what was wrong with them, nothing, she knew nothing.

The curtain did a very nice job of cutting Hadeel off from the rest of the world beyond it, even the door was covered by the sheet and the other patient. Hadeel couldn't see anyone until they walked to where her bed was.

"Is Hadeel sleeping?" Hadeel heard her mother's voice ask quickly. Feeling a brightness flood through her being Hadeel grinned slightly, they hadn't forgotten about her, her mother was here to see her at last.

"No, she's been awake for quite some time," a voice explained. "The surgery went fine, if she needs anything like morphine she can just ask and we'll help her get to sleep. But she hasn't asked for anything, so we haven't given her anything yet," the voice said quickly.

"I'll talk to her," her mother said carefully.

It was then that she walked into Hadeel's vision.

"Hey honey, how are you doing?" Her voice asked worriedly. Hadeel couldn't help but smile like a child being picked up from daycare, her mother had come to visit her!

"I'm fine," she beamed at her cheerfully.

"Why didn't you get any sleep? You could have asked for some medication to numb the pain," she started to pester her right away. Immediately Hadeel felt the need to bar herself from her mother, she wouldn't tell the woman that she had been miserable and scared the whole night and didn't want to ask for help.

"I don't know," she muttered letting a sad frown fall on her face.

"I have to go, I'll tell them you want to go to sleep, so get some rest," she muttered sounding slightly irritated.

"You just got here," Hadeel mumbled.

"I have to work in order to pay off the bills we're going to get for this," she snapped at Hadeel suddenly. "I'll see you tomorrow, honey, we're going to get you out of here as quickly as possible," she smiled before turning to leave. "Love you, goodbye," she came over to Hadeel quickly, kissing her on the cheek before leaving the room.

A nurse came in not a moment later and asked if Hadeel was tired, she felt her heart twist painfully with new thoughts and emotions swirling around inside her.

"Just put me to sleep," she whispered dejectedly.

The room got fuzzy for a few seconds before a dreamless sleep welcomed her into the darkness.

Waking up lazily her eyes fluttered around the room for a moment before landing on a single figure that was sitting in a chair in front of her. At first she thought it was her father until she saw the familiar glint of metal on his face, if Bane was here then Hadeel must be dreaming, because she hadn't told him anything of the surgery. But why was he following her into her dreams?

It was dark, night time most likely the lights in her room had been turned off and the window beside her could only be described as empty and void of anything bright. Bane certainly looked evil, sitting with his hands supporting his chin; resting his elbows on his knees he regarded her form with a dark look. Hadeel wondered what kind of dream this could possibly be if Bane was in it, a nightmare perhaps?

"Why didn't you tell me?" His question was short and cold. Hadeel could almost feel the icy temperature that accompanied his tone.

"I didn't tell anyone," she answered in a weak pathetic voice. His answer almost looked like in injured him and his eyes changed drastically as he gazed at her body and the I.V's and tube coming from her.

"You told your teachers," he bit out at her.

Hadeel suddenly smiled at him, it was a dream and yet it felt so real and she couldn't help but act like she always did, covering up everything to the point of angering herself.

"That's different, I'm just another kid in a classroom that ditched if I hadn't told them, I don't want to be just another person," she explained closing her eyes slowly. "I wanted them to know that I care about going to class," she muttered feeling her eyelids slump closed slightly.

"What of your friends?" He asked leaning forwards slightly.

"If I told them, would they have taken time out of their day to come keep me company? No, they would have said, _'I hope it goes well'_ _and 'good luck, don't die._'" She laughed at herself shortly.

Bane had to agree with what she had said, her friends would more than likely say something like that, and they would leave her to be alone when she needed them most.

"But Bane," she said his voice, grabbing his attention. "Thank you, thank you for coming," her voice was choked and weak. "It means a lot to me," she said in a shaky voice. And in a few moments she had gone back to sleep, her face twisting into a pained expression and her dream changed. Bane was gone, and her sleep turned dark and empty as it always was in the hospital.

The next day her parents came and took her home, making a few jokes about the tube in her back and how she would be carrying around a bag buddy for a week again. She faked a laugh and looked out the window until they got home. Leaving her on the couch they left for work and her sisters left for school, leaving her alone again, with only the T.V to keep her company.

Her thoughts went back to the dream she had had in the hospital, when she had seen Bane sitting in that chair in front of her bed there had been a certain level of happiness that consumed her heart for a second. He had come to visit her even though she had said nothing about the surgery to him. Holding the memory of the dream within her mind Hadeel smiled at the warmth it brought through her skin, what a lovely dream.

030

Wednesday night Bane walked onto the college campus where he would wait for his little Songbird to sing for him to follow her voice, but she did not sing for him. So he went to her art classroom to look for her, but she wasn't there either, distinctly he recalled that Hadeel hated missing school, she'd told her friends that even when she was sick and sneezing snot everywhere she went to school. They didn't like the sound of that and moved away from her quickly.

So then where was she?

Walking over to the classroom Bane saw that the door was open ever so slightly, he could faintly hear the conversations inside the room as class had started a good twenty minutes ago.

"Is Hadeel not here tonight?" A girl with black hair and headphones around her neck asked the teacher. "She's always here, I was going to ask her for some paint," she muttered looking around the room.

"Hadeel will be back next Wednesday," the teacher explained hearing the student ask about their lying, and always smiling classmate. "She had surgery yesterday and is in the hospital today," the teacher said loudly to the whole classroom before she looked somewhat troubled by what she had said. Perhaps Hadeel had wanted to keep that a secret from everyone.

Bane stiffened with slight anger at what he heard, Hadeel was in the hospital? She hadn't said anything to him at all about surgery or anything of the sort that she would need a surgery for. But what did he expect? He already knew that Hadeel didn't like to tell anyone anything that was bothering her or had something to do with her worries and troubles, why should he be any different?

Of course Bane felt that if she should tell anyone anything it should be him, she was his little Songbird and yet she had been keeping it from them ever since they had met and been talking for the past few weeks.

Feeling very bitter about the whole situation Bane Found the hospital she was staying at and decided he was going to visit her room. It was a little troublesome to sneak past all the doctors and nurses, but it was night time and there seemed to be less activity going on about the place.

When finally he found her room he stalked in to see another woman was also in the same room as her, asleep and still he disregarded her and moved to the next bed.

Stopping when he saw Hadeel's form Bane slumped into a chair that seemed positioned in front of her bed. She was motionless except for the rising and falling of her chest and the occasional look of pain that crossed her face. Bane looked over every inch of her form, feeling anger and bitterness in his mouth his eyes grew cold.

There was a tube that seemed to be connected to her back that was draining her kidney of urine and blood, it looked odd and alien as the tube went to disappear into her skin. There was a useless needle in her left hand, an I.V that had closed and yet they had not removed the thing from her form, there was another on her right arm that had a tube connected to it.

She looked so brittle and small in the bed; he couldn't help but feel an itch in his throat and a bit of protectiveness in his heart. He was still angry at her, did she not want him to see her in such a state, or did she not consider him worthy to know that she was having surgery in the first place? Her skin looked paler in the dim light that was provided in the room, she looked so sickly that Bane felt the need to steal her away from the hospital and take her with him. Certainly he could take better care of her.

He was so lost in his thoughts he almost didn't notice when her eyes focused weakly on his form, so he asked her exactly what he had been asking himself since he had gotten into the room. Her answer made him remember the conversation they had had in front of her car not two days before, she never told anyone this kind of stuff.

Then she had thanked him, her voice so full of pain and gratitude that he forgot his anger for a few moments and was overwhelmed with the need to take her away from her pain. But he couldn't do that, not yet.

Soon she was asleep again and Bane was walking back down the halls of the hospital, trying to leave behind the feelings that had found him when he was next to her. He didn't want to care about the Little Songbird, and yet all he wanted to do was take her away from the world so she could see that not everyone was the same.

Perhaps he would.

_"You smile like you know the new world has been found." **-Wake Owl**_

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**AN: Now I'm going to get into more Bane/Hadeel goodness, Soon I'm going to have a couple weeks off so I'll write a lot during that time.  
**

**What did you think though? Have you ever been in the hospital for surgery?**

**Thank you for reading.**


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: Oh, new chapter, I wonder what's inside...I already know..I mean I did write it.**

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_"When the whites of your eyes come through, you'll see something new." **-Other Lives**_

**Chapter Five**

Hadeel really craved to get some attention from someone, anyone, and at least she could go back to school and catch up in her classes after missing a day. A day doesn't sound like much but after her first surgery Hadeel had missed a lot of school in the past years, and she always hated the makeup work. So every year since then she had made it a point to never miss a day of school so that she was always up to date with all of her school work.

Plus there was this feeling of emptiness that came with staying home alone all day and taking her medication while carrying around a bag of disgusting urine and blood. There was no one at home during the day at her apartment, all she had were her thoughts. Not surprisingly her thoughts had been centered on Bane and the dream she had had at the hospital, he was the only person she had ever met that had called her a liar so bluntly and now he was invading her lonely thoughts.

She remembered the feeling of his strong arm holding her back when he was angry and the soft strength of the same arm when he had prevented her from eating concrete. She had never really been that close to a man before, sure they had given her hugs that she didn't care for or they tried to get close to her when she didn't want it. But this was different, she hadn't felt the need to flee or get away, and she hated to admit that he made her feel safe or comfortable.

If there was anything Hadeel didn't like it was letting people help her, or asking someone for help, feeling vulnerable was something she despised. And yet she had felt very vulnerable numerous times with him and it hadn't bothered her in the slightest, well except for maybe at the exact moment she had felt vulnerable. Usually at this point she would start to push the other person away, but with Bane, she wanted to see him even more.

When finally Hadeel went back to school on Wednesday the next week she went through her classes like she normally would, explaining to anyone who asked that she had had surgery and was in the hospital and recovering when she had been absent last Wednesday. Then she would explain that even as she was sitting there in class she had a tube in her back and that she was taking an antibiotic and many other medications every six hours or so. Her friends would frown and show bitter emotions of pain and pity for her, saying that they were happy that the surgery had gone alright and that they hoped she would get better faster. Hadeel would smile back at them and insist that she was fine and that she was used to it, for she had had the surgery twice already.

During her longer break Hadeel had to take her medication with her meal and immediately she was bombarded with questions about why she was gone and why she hadn't told anybody. At first Hadeel felt a little touched, had they cared that she had been absent?

"We were worried that maybe you had gotten sick and died," one of her friends joked with a laugh. Hadeel faltered with her feelings when she heard them laughing and joking about her suddenly falling over and biting the dust.

"I had surgery," Hadeel muttered blandly looking at them.

Watching as their eyebrows rose in shock all of them seemed a little stiff on what to say next, surely she was joking right?

"Are you serious?" One of her friends asked with a choked laugh. He must have figured that she was lying and trying to make them choke on their own words.

"Last Wednesday I was in the hospital after having surgery on my kidneys to remove a stone that had been blocking drainage. I still have a tube in my back, the bag it strapped onto my leg, that's where I was and what happened," she explained feeling bitterness on her tongue.

Shock, that was what showed on most of their faces before any of them had the nerve to speak. Hadeel merely looked away from them and out one of the larger windows in the room. She hadn't planned on telling them, but after being alone for a week she was sick of not talking to anyone about it, she wanted someone to notice that she wasn't okay with everything that had happened.

After being in school all day and dealing with everyone asking what was wrong and giving her the biggest pity party she had had in a while she sick of everything. Listening to her friends drag on about what had happened and where she had been and why she hadn't told anyone she felt about ready to burst. Had they not cared that she was gone? That she was suffering all by herself at home? Did they not think to call her and ask if she was okay?

Then there was the sour taste that Hadeel knew was the truth seeping into her skin, she hadn't told them anything about it, so it was her fault she felt like this. It was her fault that she was feeling bitter and betrayed, it had nothing to do with the way her friends acted at all, did it?

"That sucks, haven't you already had one of these?" One of her friends asked with a bit of sympathy in his voice.

"Two, the last one was two years ago, she would know that," Hadeel muttered glancing over at her friend emotionlessly. "I had the first one when I was a sophomore in high school, it kind sucks more than you think it does," she said with a small laugh.

"Don't laugh about it," a voice from another table called.

A man wearing glasses and holding a book called 'Gods of Aberdeen' turned to look at her with a bit of a sad expression on his face. Hadeel was slightly taken aback from his comment for her mother had said something similar a few days before. His voice had seemed calm and stern at the same time, something about him made Hadeel feel a little comfortable.

"Why not?" She questioned. The rest of her friends were silent as she spoke to the man, he always sat at the table full of people that played a card game and talked about nothing but the card game nonstop.

"It's not something that's funny," he commented. Sometimes depending on what Hadeel and her friends were talking about people in the card playing would comment about it and show Hadeel that they had been listening the whole time. Today wasn't any different.

"It's funny to me, and when nothing else helps or does anything, laughing is all I can do," she explained feeling overly expressive. It wasn't often that Hadeel spoke like this, with words that could actually mean something to her, things that she pulled from her heart.

Suddenly her heart twisted again, like it had been doing a lot lately, a comment on the tip of her tongue that she refused to let out Hadeel couldn't say it. But it made her realize something that made her heart stop. In most cases she laughed to keep her emotions in check and force everything she wanted to say back down her throat. She hadn't laughed so much today and so her words had broken free of the shield she put around herself.

But most of the time, she laughed a lot.

Art rolled around and Hadeel greeted her classmates shakily as they seemed to already know about her surgery, they asked her if she would need any help with anything, if she was feeling ill and needed to go home early. Biting her teeth in irritation she grinned and pretended that she was fine even though the day was really wearing down on her, after all, she had spent the majority of the days after her surgery laying around and doing nothing all day. Of course she would feel stretched trying to go back to her normal routine.

Regardless of that Hadeel made it through art and left the classroom feeling very much drained. But it did not keep her from looking for Bane; she had wanted to tell him what happened, to see if he had thought there was something wrong. Maybe say something about the dream she had had in the hospital, unless that would be too creepy, perhaps it was.

He didn't show up.

Hadeel went home feeling far more empty and lonely then when she had gone to school that morning; surely Bane had better things to do then show up at a college to talk to someone like her. Of course he had better things to do, and it was her fault wasn't it? She was the one that didn't tell him she would be gone, for all he knew she was avoiding him, even if that was not the case at all.

030

Bane didn't show up the next Monday either, or Wednesday, or the following Monday. So Hadeel went back to her routine, the tube in her back was removed, leaving her with nothing but a bandage and another dent in her back to go along with the other two. Her friends went back to talking about random stuff that didn't matter or were pointless when it came down to it. Hadeel went back to lying, the man at the card playing table went back to making comments that didn't matter and didn't bite at her heart. She went back to being sad and lonely, hoping for something more in her life like most people who are missing someone.

Hadeel couldn't help but look out the window during art class to see if Bane was walking around campus like a freshmen looking for their class. Soon he was someone that Hadeel placed in the forgotten parts of her heart, it was her fault he was there, and yet she could do nothing to pull him from it. Because he had obviously forgotten about her or perhaps he was angry, either way, she had not seen him in a long time. Perhaps if she was not who she was he would still be coming to visit her like he had before, but she was herself, and as of now, there was nothing she could do to change that.

Again she was in art class, staring out the window when her eye caught something move in the dark, looking more like the figure of a man than anything else Hadeel's eyes widened considerably.

"I'm taking my break," she said in a rush towards whoever might be listening.

Opening the door to the cold air Hadeel rushed out to find the figure, hoping that it was who she hoped it would be. Frantically looking around in the dark Hadeel huffed and frowned when she didn't see anyone until finally she saw a figure out near the parking lot, they were wearing a jacket with the hood pulled up.

Immediately Hadeel jumped to conclusions, she could already see the metal of the mask reflecting light faintly in the light of the parking lot. Pounding her feet into the pavement she ran towards the figure, hoping in her heart and in her mind that it would be Bane, that he had come to see her.

"Bane!" She called out the figure. He didn't turn at the mention of the name so Hadeel ran faster until finally she could reach out and grab the back of the jacket, so she did. The figure halted as soon as he found there was a new weight on his back.

"What?" A grumpy voice asked as they turned around. It was her friend, the one that had dropped the class for a guy. "Oh, hi Hadeel," she said cheerfully taking an earphone away from her face.

Hadeel slumped considerably and started to pant from her quick sprint towards her friend, how had she not realized that the figure was not Bane? Obviously the back was too small, her friend wasn't even as near big enough to be as strong or as muscled as Bane was, she'd gotten far too ahead of herself.

"Why are you still here?" Hadeel finally asked getting her words back. It was already around eight thirty and her art class would be over in about fifteen minutes.

"My parents always pick me up at about eight forty," she explained dully.

"But you don't even have a class," Hadeel muttered catching her breath grumpily.

"I know," she answered simply.

Hadeel felt cold for a moment, she was still here, she didn't have a class and she was alone, certainly being in art class with a friend was more fun than being alone.

"Do you not like me?" Hadeel asked her suddenly.

"What? Why would you ask me that? Of course I like you, you're my friend," she answered letting her voice sound offended by the question.

"You'd rather be alone then be in class with me and you ask me that?" Hadeel spat out bitterly. "I was excited for that class because you were taking it with me, and then you left me without even a second thought," she said raising her voice more.

"You said we were okay," her friend countered going on defensive mode.

"How could I be okay?" She said suddenly angry. "Would you feel okay if I left you without saying anything?" She asked menacingly.

"I don't know," she said with a softer voice.

"And then you said that the class was boring, am I boring to you?" Hadeel questioned letting her anger rule her words. Finally she was telling her friend how she felt, and it made her feel as if she was lifting a weight off her shoulders.

"No," her friend was starting to sound a little pitiful now.

"The thing is, you hurt me and I can't just forget that," she said letting her voice take a softer tone.

Her friend looked complacent for a little while before she finally looked at her phone unsteadily; she then murmured something about her mom being there to pick her up before shuffling away from Hadeel.

Turning away from her friend Hadeel went back to class, almost jumping out of her own skin when she saw someone standing by the door she recognized the presence the person brought about the air.

"You finally found your words little Songbird," his voice passed through her heart like a cold wind.

"I did," she said playfully. "She was starting to piss me off," she grumbled letting her face contort into an angry expression.

"I was beginning to wonder when I would finally get to see you," he mused letting his eyes light up curiously.

"You've seen me before," she mumbled looking at him strangely.

"No, this is the real you," he explained coldly making her stiffen. "That girl who smiles and lies all the time, that's not you, not really," he bit out at her when she looked away from him.

He was looking past all the walls and masks she had constructed around herself to keep everything hidden away and confined. Because when it came down to it Hadeel wasn't who she appeared to be every morning, she didn't always smile at everything, she wasn't as outgoing as everyone thought she was or as happy.

"What are talking about?" She tried to save anything that was left of her barriers. Everyone wears masks in front of certain people, some people wear masks all the time, and eventually they become the mask. Hadeel had had the mask on for so long that she became what she had created, a happy person who was someone everyone could rely on to be bright and cheerful. When really she wanted to lash out at you or tell you something that you didn't want to hear, just like she had done with her friend moments before.

"Right now, your eyes are clear and I can see all your emotions, the air of happiness and fakeness seems to have been lifted. I like you like this little Songbird, it makes me wonder how clear your voice will be tonight," he said looking down at her.

"No one likes me like this," she explained looking away from him.

This was confusing to her, for in high school there had been a set of twins that she had been really close to. They always complained about money issues and about how unfair life had been to them, like they were always the victim when it came to events that had happened in their lives. Hadeel had been very blunt and open in high school when it came to her friends; she'd always wanted to help them get stronger.

There were a few cases where she had given them some advice on how to save money, for she knew their situation and had done some research to help them out and make it easier for them. They accused her of being demeaning and critical, they didn't want her help and felt like she was attacking them personally. Hadeel had assured them that she was only trying to help, but still they insisted that since they had accused her of being mean that she was going to leave them, that she hated them as friends now. Hadeel was confused, she'd never left her friends before and insisted that she wasn't going to leave them.

Again Hadeel suggested that if they were more persistent in their job searching they would find one a lot faster, that if they worked a little harder someone would gladly hire them. Immediately they shut down and blocked her out of their hearts, Hadeel could see it in their faces even before they said anything. The next day they tore her apart for being inconsiderate and mean to them, saying that they had called her lazy and they it wasn't their fault no one wanted to hire them. By now there had been many cases when the twins had called Hadeel out on _attacking_ them, and Hadeel was sick of it. No matter what she did or said nothing was right, all she wanted to do was help, and yet every time she tried to help them they made her feel like an awful person. They didn't care what she had to say, because no matter what, they had to be the victim. Hadeel didn't want to believe that, instead she changed herself. People liked her better when she was smiling and making jokes as opposed to when she was telling them things she didn't want to admit to themselves.

She pulled away from them and everyone else, keeping everything in so she wouldn't hurt anyone with her words anymore.

"Not even my friends liked me," she said sadly. The memory of the twins came back to her mind quickly, like a gust of wind ripping through a field.

"Then they were not your friends," he said dryly. "Class is almost over, I'll see you next Wednesday," he said turning to leave.

At first Hadeel didn't respond, she fumbled around with her phone to check the time before looking up to see that Bane was already a little ways away from her. It was Wednesday today; it meant that Bane would not be there next Monday which was okay because Hadeel had something she had to do for school that day in town.

"See you Wednesday," she shouted at him before opening the door to her class and going inside.

030

Unbeknownst to Hadeel Bane had waited near the parking lot, hiding the shadows behind some trees he stood against the wall until she would pass by on her way to her car. He hadn't been lying when he said he was curious about how her voice would sound; he was waiting for her to sing before he went back on his way.

Making his breathing as soft as he could Bane waited for her voice to waft through the air towards him as it always did, he wondered faintly how her voice would sound echoing around his hideout. Would it still sound as soft as it in the free air? Or would it change and turn into something that would keep him up at night?

At first Bane had been surprised to see someone else talking to Hadeel when he first showed up, one of her friends of course. He was even more surprised when she finally said what she had been holding in for all the time that he'd known her. It was as she was yelling at her friend and being stern with her that Bane realized the clarity of her voice and the unwavering look in her eyes. She wasn't hiding anything, nothing was being put away and concealed, this was who she really was, not some smiling girl that always had the best time of her life no matter what.

Finally a voice pulled him away from his thoughts, it was Hadeel's voice, and she had already started singing and was making her way towards the parking lot. Her voice seemed to carry farther than it usually did, just as he had thought it was clearer now, as if someone had pulled a cotton ball out of their ear and could finally hear everything the world had to offer.

"It burned wild, and crept up the mountainside, I followed your ashes into outer space," she sang a song that Bane couldn't even imagine that he knew. But somehow he felt that the song was meant for her, because her voice was so clear and open that he felt compelled to listen. "I can't look out the window; I can't look at this place. I can't look at the Stars," suddenly her voice was loud.

Bane had to stop himself from breathing for a moment to hear the fullness of her voice, he'd never heard her sing as loud as she was singing right now, and it was perfect for her.

"They make me wonder where you are. Stars, up on heaven's boulevard. And if I know you at all I know you've gone too far, and so I, I can't look at the stars," she finished her song softly and trailed off until he could hear nothing anymore.

Her voice still lingered powerfully in his head and he'd made his decision about what to do with his little Songbird. When everything happened and Gotham fell, he would take her away and protect what she was.

030

Monday came quickly, much to Hadeel's dismay. For one of her classes she had to go to the stock exchange, or whatever it was called, she didn't care because she didn't want to go, not alone anyway. Supposedly there would be other classmates there but Hadeel had her doubts, she hated going to new places alone, especially when she had to drive there. There were always those moments when she got lost while driving and gave herself a mini heart attack as she tried to find her way back to a familiar street. Her brothers laughed at her for that.

She'd only gone to one class that morning, just her math class because she was having a test; the other part of her day was spent standing in front of her teacher as he gave them instructions about what they were going to be doing if they went to the stock exchange. Hadeel only half listened since she had the project assignment sheet that had all the requirements and steps to follow anyway.

On the way to the building Hadeel clutched onto her directions and map that she had printed from the internet as if it was her lifeline, looking between the directions and the street names every minute before making a decision. It was how she always got to new places, the second time she would barely need a map and the third time she would have it memorized, but the first time, no chances were taken.

It had happened a lot during the past few days; Hadeel would start to lose herself in her thoughts when she thought about what Bane had said about her little outburst on her friend. He liked her when she was like that; at least that was what he had said. It made Hadeel a little numb to think about, because why would he like her like that if she didn't like herself at all? Her friends had never appreciated her when she was trying to help them and be blunt with them, she didn't gain anything from being her old self. Then again, what did she gain from her present self?

Fake smiles, lies, pent up anger, and emptiness. Somehow it just reminded her of how nothing she did was correct in the means of living life to the fullest, because no matter what there was something holding her back. Her friend had texted her back with a single word_, Sorry_, which Hadeel had accepted gratefully, feeling something heavy lift from her heart there was a new sense of accomplishment that surrounded her. She'd missed being able to bluntly talk to her friends as if she was their therapist or something, she'd missed trying to help them giving advice. Though what she had said to her friend was hardly advice it just felt right to her.

Finally finding parking she got out of her car shakily, glancing at her appearance before grabbing a smaller purse like bag from the back of her car. Her mother had insisted that she wear a dress when she went to the exchange, just to show everyone that she was a serious student and not someone who just rolled out of bed. It was a simple dark blue dress with black and white swirly designs that hugged her body and made Hadeel feel extremely uncomfortable. Add on black tights, dark blue boots borrowed from her sister, and a small but warm black jacket and you got a very nice looking college girl doing an assignment for her class.

Feeling very weird looking Hadeel made her way to the building and inside, sighing in relief when the cold left her as she entered the small warmth that the building offered. There seemed to be metal detectors and a group of employees waiting around to escort anyone out if they were needed to. A few people looked at her when she walked in, a couple guys took second glances at her, not that she noticed since she was so nervous and shy. Sure she could do many outgoing things when she was with her friends or in a group of people, but alone she was a shy girl walking around a building with people staring at her.

Going up to the desk area Hadeel took out her paper and her school ID to show to the man at the desk. The man looked young enough, certainly he was in his late twenties or something, with a kind attractive face Hadeel felt a little embarrassed to even talk to him. If her sisters were here they would grunt in satisfaction as they always did while watching a movie or walking past a hot guy in the store.

"I'm here for an assignment for my college," she said trying to sound formal. Her voice came out a little shaky and quiet instead.

"Do you have ID?" He asked kindly letting a smile dance across his face.

"Here," she said handing him her ID and the assignment paper. He nodded towards her before looking over the paper and smiling before handing it back to her; he then looked over to someone at the metal detector and gave a thumbs up.

"Go ahead, its right up the stairs," he grinned at her when she seemed slightly flustered. Hadeel didn't know what it was, but when she was alone and had to speak to people she thought were attractive she usually flushed and felt as if a wave of heat suddenly engulfed her.

"Thank you, have a nice day," she said before feeling dumb. It's not like she was working right now, she didn't have to wish everyone a nice day. The man went back to working as if she had never existed, when Hadeel noticed this her mood hardened along with her words and expressions. Going back to her old self she felt the need to go back to him and tell him to have a crappy day because he was a crappy person. Pointing out that he beard looked like an unshaven woman's leg.

Hearing her own thoughts Hadeel smirked and looked forwards to the woman controlling the metal detector, placing her bag in the basket she walked through without beeping. The woman gave the bag back before giving her a nod and looking back towards the door, and thus Hadeel had successfully made it into the building without harm!

Feeling a bit adventurous Hadeel wandered up the stairs and down a different hallway that led to the bathrooms and a meeting room of sorts. Turning a corner to a group of people talking Hadeel quickly turned around and walked back the way she had come, they wouldn't want a weird college girl to interrupt them. Walking down a small flight of stairs Hadeel walked past the sight of the front lobby again to see a man with a motorcycle helmet on walking into the building. He looked like he was ready to drive into a dirt filled arena with ramps and start doing flips and tricks off of them, but instead he was here. How boring.

Walking down the opposite hallway Hadeel stopped short when she heard the metal detector beep behind her; always curious she walked backwards and poked her head out around the corner to see the man start to remove his helmet. When he got it all the way off Hadeel gasped softly at what she saw.

It was Bane!

The moments that followed made Hadeel hold her breath and freeze up, unable to look away from what was happening she watched as Bane began to beat up the employees that came to stop him until they were all motionless on the ground. Hadeel had no words that came to mind, her mind racing with a million thoughts perhaps there was a man that wore a mask like Bane's and that was him and it wasn't Bane. But of course that was just crazy, it had to be Bane, who else would it be.

What was he doing though? Was this who he was? Really she knew nothing about him so she couldn't say anything, but she couldn't help but feel a little scared of him. It was like a movie, she hoped someone would walk out with a camera and yell at her for getting in the scene, but no, there was nothing like that. But was this really.

"Bane?" She asked letting her thought slip out of her mouth.

At the sound of his name Bane turned sharply to the direction from which he had heard it to see someone looking back at him from behind a corner. At first he took dark steps towards the person, he would just kill them simply and leave them on the ground like he had the others, but something stopped him.

How did they know his name? Why did the voice sound so familiar? Getting closer to the figure Bane recognized the face but couldn't bring himself to accept the fact of who it was. Quite quickly the face disappeared behind the corner and away from his searching eyes, but he wasn't going to let her get away now.

It was Hadeel.

When their eyes had met Hadeel was sure that he had recognized her right away, but perhaps he hadn't because the way he was walking towards her made her feel like he was coming to finish his job. He didn't know it was her, did that mean that he was going to kill her as well?

Feeling fear rush into her body Hadeel pulled her head back around the corner and slumped against the wall, hoping that he would leave her alone and go back to whatever he was doing. But what was he doing? Killing people? Hadeel felt her stomach churn at the memory of the limp bodies on the floor in front of her, how could he kill people so easily?

How did he do it? The feeling of flesh hitting flesh and breaking bones, Hadeel could barely deal with bones sticking out of peoples arms in a movie, she would definitely have nightmare from this. Why was he here? Had he followed her? It definitely seemed like it, but that couldn't be the case, it was just a coincidence. She wasn't meant to see any of this.

Hearing Bane's footsteps draw nearer Hadeel put her hands over her ears like a child trying to block out a scary part in a movie, what was he going to do with her? Closing her eyes tightly she tried to block out the images of the limp bodies, it reminded her of the blanket covered body in the hospital, and it terrified her.

She needed something strong to hold onto, someone who made her feel safe and comfortable because she wanted to forget about everything she had seen. Bane, the bodies, everything, there was only one person she could think of when it came to strong and safe, and just as she opened her eyes he was standing right in front of her.

"Little Songbird," he said without difference in his voice. No shake or waver, he spoke like he normally did as if he had merely walked up to the school on a cold dark night, as opposed to walking into a building and beating up a bunch of people.

"Bane," she whispered softly.

_"When the life in your eyes wants black. Things return, you've come back." **-Other lives**_

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**AN: I have to admit that sometimes I rack my brain to find the right song lyrics to put at the beginning and end of each chapter, and in turn, I'm finding a lot of new music with meaningful lyrics hidden in between the folds of the music.  
**

**So what did you think? Are you excited that something's finally happening?**

**Thanks for reading.**


	7. Chapter 6

**AN: Sorry it took so long, I was in the hospital for a few days, and then pretty much useless for a about a week or so, anyway, hope you like it.**

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_"Just because I'm losing, doesn't mean I'm lost. Doesn't mean I'll stop, doesn't mean I would cross." **-Coldplay**_

**Chapter Six**

Hadeel didn't know what to say, what she had seen and witnessed was something that had left her slightly speechless in front of the man that had caused her to be that way. Bane merely stared down at her without much emotion in his eyes, for a moment Hadeel had thought that she could see a bit of surprise in his eyes. Though that emotion was gone as quickly as it had come.

She expected him to at least ask her why she was there, he was curious about it wasn't he? She was definitely curious as to why Bane had come in with intent to kill, and plans to do who knows what else.

"Nothing to say?" Bane asked her calmly.

Tearing her eyes away from his face Hadeel looked away from him and towards the ground, what was she to do? Was she fearful of him now? Maybe, though more than anything Hadeel felt as if she was numb to whatever was happening. As if she was simply watching everything happen from afar, unable to call out to herself and give her own person advice. There seemed to be a single question floating around in Hadeel's head, one that made her cringe when she remembered the reason for it coming up at all.

"Is it easy?" Her voice was small when she spoke to him finally. Bane seemed a little taken aback for a moment; he hadn't expected her to speak much after watching him kill a handful of people.

"Is what easy?" He questioned her.

"Killing people," she let her voice fall off after that. Bane looked down at her small form beneath him as she slumped against the wall and looked away from his searching eyes.

It was an odd sort of question to hear from one so young, especially a girl, moreover, a girl who just watched her friend whom she thought to be nice kill people and walk around like nothing happened. That was one of the reasons why Bane liked the girl, Hadeel always seemed to surprise him, smiling when he thought she would cry or bite out at him. Asking questions when she should be running or trembling to the point of tears from fear of what might happen to her. Yet she was asking him a question that made him smile.

"Yes," he answered shortly.

At that moment Hadeel looked up at him, eyes full of an emotion that he had yet to see in her eyes and in the contours of her face, a mixture of fear, worry, and pain. Bane's eyes crinkled up slightly in amusement and excitement, not only was his plan finally coming into play but also he was able to see his Songbird show such a raw expression to him.

When Bane had answered her question so simply Hadeel felt her stomach churn sickly, quickly turning her eyes towards his she looked at him with a pained expression. He killed people as if they were goldfish or pigeons, but that wasn't how it was supposed to be, humans are supposed to be different. When you think about the fact that they have been going through hardships and pain just as you have it should make it harder to end their life. Because they're trying just as hard as everyone else is to stay alive and to just be happy in such a world as this.

"It shouldn't be," she said in a soft whisper.

After saying that Hadeel once again turned away from Bane, feeling that his gaze was much too strong on her, she looked down the hall as calmly as she could. What was she going to do though? Was Bane going to let her leave? Or was she going to die by the very hands she thought to be so strong and threatening, but gentle? Bane had his moments where Hadeel felt that he could protect anyone from anything, and that no matter what, he would be there for her. Of course that was also just a wild thought in Hadeel's mind that ignored all other feelings of fear and uneasiness, because at the same time Bane was dark and threatening. The strength that Hadeel had felt behind his arms and through his words had made her shudder and spill the truth when she really hadn't wanted to say anything at all.

She didn't know anything about him except that he wore a mask, he liked big coats, and he seemed to want to know everything about her. In just a few seconds she'd found out that he killed people and that it was easy for him, that he didn't care he was ending people's lives, and she had no answer for why. She'd seen something that he obviously had not wanted her to see; else he would have told her that he was going to be at the Stock Exchange. So what was to become of her?

"Get up," Bane said suddenly. Yanking Hadeel to her feet when she hesitated Bane pulled her with him, down a few steps of stairs before he caught sight of what he was looking for.

Seeing a man with a gun looking at them Hadeel stiffened and tried to shy away from Bane's grip and the man. He looked mean, with a dark face and a set expression of hate and anger Hadeel didn't want to get any closer to the man than she already was, she could imagine the gun in his hands quickly turning on her form. The sound of it going off ringing ghostly in her ears as she could almost feel the pain as the bullet struck her skin, if it happened would she scream?

"If you lose her, you will lose your life," Bane said to the man before shoving Hadeel towards him. Hadeel stumbled, feeling the need to run away she took a shaky step before the man with the gun grabbed onto her arm forcefully and brought her from to his. Hadeel could feel the strength of his body through the stiffness of his stance and his chest against her back, a shiver passed through her skin when she felt his heart beat powerfully.

"Yes, sir," he muttered coldly.

With that said Bane turned and walked away from them, leaving Hadeel with a silence she choked on and a fear that was growing in her throat and in her heart.

Usually it was horror movies that made her tremble and shake as she walked to her room in the dark at night, her friends would laugh at her and giggle at how she would leave the light on when she slept. Her thoughts would run wild and unkempt through her head whenever she saw something even remotely scary. She could almost hear the weight of their footsteps as they walked down the hall toward her room and never opened the door. That was a kind of imaginary fear that stole sleep from Hadeel during the dark nights in her room, but this was different.

The man holding onto her arm pushed her past the dead and limp bodies on the floor until they were in front of a chair; he then forced her down towards the piece of furniture powerfully.

"Sit down," he growled lowly.

For a mere second Hadeel had the thought to run. Bane had told the man that if he lost her that he would be killed in return, that would mean that Bane didn't want her dead or lost for that matter, but if she ran would she make it? Course he could always shoot her in the leg and then she would be a bloody mess trying to stumble back to her feet, and she didn't want a bullet in her leg.

Sitting down quickly Hadeel looked away from the man quickly, not wanted to make eye contact with him she wondered how many times he had listened to his gun fire at someone, she could only imagine their bodies falling limply to the floor. Fearful of her own thoughts Hadeel closed her eyes tightly and covered her ears as she heard new screams echo through the building before gunshots followed. The man in front of her shifted uncomfortable from foot to foot taking a glance or two in the direction of the noise. Was that the next step of Bane's plan?

Trying to take her mind off Bane Hadeel set her mind on trying to come up with an escape plan, she was too scared when it came to running away from Bane because she had seen him in action when he had killed the men and women that lay before her on the ground. But when it came to this man there was a bit of lightness, just a small fraction, which lifted from her heart, because she didn't know if he was as powerful as Bane was. But should she try to escape? Even though she had seen Bane kill he still hadn't caused her any real harm, he could have killed her already and yet he let her live.

Her thoughts tore into two parts as Hadeel wondered what she should do, she'd considered Bane as a friend before this happened, what was he now?

"So," a voice ripped her from her thoughts.

The man in front of her smirked and took her bag from her like it was a bomb, tossing it across the room Hadeel watched as if hit one of the bodies before she closed her eyes painfully. The sound it'd made when it hit the body was so horrid and dull. It wasn't like she had anything threatening in the bag; there was no reason for him to cast it aside like an unwanted doll.

"Why are you so important?" He asked turning her face forcefully up towards his.

It was then that Hadeel finally got a good look at him, not a bad looking guy with a bit of stubble around his face and a thin mouth made for serious expressions. Lastly Hadeel looked into his eyes, it was always the thing she loved about people, the way their eyes were unique to them. His were green with traces of brown and gold in them, looking like white veins, Hadeel couldn't help but feel a tightness in her throat. How could someone with such beautiful eyes be holding a gun?

"No answer?" He asked her squeezing her chin in his grip slightly.

Tearing her gaze away from him Hadeel forced her head out of his grip tentatively, was he the type of bad guy that got angry easily and started beating up his captives? Typically in movies there were only a few types of villains; the one that was evil and cared nothing for anyone else, the one that was just fighting on the wrong side, the one that cared for only a few people, and the one that was kind only at certain moments. Sometimes Hadeel would imagine what these villains would be like if she met them, she never thought it would actually happen.

"I like your eyes," she mumbled too softly for anyone to hear.

"What was that?" He asked hearing her mumble something. His voice turned hard and mean when he asked her, as if he thought she was cursing at him or something.

"Your eyes," she said looking up at him suddenly. "I like them," she said before turning away from him ashamed of herself. She shouldn't be complimenting the guy with the gun, if anything she should be screaming or attempting to runaway just like everyone else in the movies did. Why? Why was she saying something like that to the man? He could be a crazy person.

When the man let a chuckle escape his lips Hadeel looked up at him abruptly, he shook his head once before turning away from her; he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"Weird girl," he muttered lowly.

Doing her best not to look at the bodies on the ground Hadeel looked around the room as if she was a curious child, but somehow her eyes always landed on the limp figures on the floor. Making her shudder with discomfort and fear she felt like crying just from the sight of it, how much would their family members cry for them?

"Keep moving!" A shout echoed throughout the building loudly. The man next to Hadeel more or less disappeared as she tried to figure out what was happened as more and more people started to come down the stairs and towards the main entrance. Getting lost in the crowd of people Hadeel started to feel more fearful than she had moments before, what was happening now?

Feeling the fear of everyone else surround her Hadeel could feel herself begin to fall into the frenzy of the people around her, the pushing and shoving of arms and shoulder made Hadeel want to fall to the floor and block the world out. Within the madness of fear and worry a strong hand found its way to Hadeel's arm, pulling her backwards and into a familiar presence Hadeel looked up to see Bane staring down at her. A sudden urge to get away came to her again, but her legs would not follow such a command.

There were no words spoken between the two of them, Bane merely pulled Hadeel behind him as they made their way through the crowd that parted in front of them as if they were a shark or lion passing by. Finally they came to a group of motorcycles and Bane plopped his helmet on easily, merging in with the rest of his gang Hadeel couldn't tell any of them apart and perhaps that was what they wanted.

Tensing in his grip Hadeel tried to shy away from him slightly, feeling like she should at least struggle as someone tried to steal her away from the world. It was odd to feel nothing and say nothing when something like this was happening, when in truth she was merely petrified with fear and discomfort and didn't know what to say. Giving a small tug on her arm to get away from him Hadeel almost squeaked when Bane tugged her towards him even more, now their bodies were but inches apart.

"You needn't be afraid, little Songbird," he said shortly. Even through the motorcycle helmet Hadeel could hear the rasp in his voice as he breathed and spoke to her, and that, in its simplicity, was calming.

Within the next few moments Bane pulled Hadeel onto the bike with him, sitting her in front of him so she would have no venue for escape. Hadeel felt herself stiffen when she thought about how close they were to each other, she could feel his form through her clothes and could imagine what his heartbeat felt like. The sudden sound of engines revving softly made Hadeel close her eyes tightly, a few people next to her made small screams and noises of protest, making Hadeel open her nervous eyes to see what it was.

Hostages, the other men were taking random people from the crowd for hostages on their own bike. So that's all she was then, a hostage. Bane wasn't taking her for any other reason than to use as leverage to threaten the police with. An odd sort of feeling rushed over Hadeel as she felt herself stiffen all the more when she thought about what he might do with her and the rest of the hostages.

Finally they started to move, inching forward bit by bit until some of the people were exiting the building through the front doors; Hadeel could faintly hear policemen shouting things back and forth to each other. A burst of power sent Bane, Hadeel, and the other men on motorcycles through the crowd of people and put the door without conflict, driving easily past anything that the police had set up for them.

Hearing another scream Hadeel turned around for a moment to see some of the other men ditch their hostages on the side of the street by the Stock Exchange building. Looking forwards towards the road again Hadeel wondered when Bane would throw her away as well.

Hadeel closed her eyes frightfully; she had always hated motorcycles since her dad had gotten one and made her drive home from school on it. The fact that most motorcycle crashes kill the driver made her clench her teeth and let fear clog her throat, hopefully Bane would be a good driver. Feeling a bump in the road and hearing bullets in the background Hadeel tried her best to hide away from the sound, shriveling backwards only to come into contact with Bane's stomach. Freezing suddenly she made no move to get away from him by leaning forward, because for some reason she felt safe with her back against his chest. Blotting out the previous knowledge of him being a killer and whatnot she still only felt that he was the one that could make her feel safe.

"I'm going to throw you now," Bane said letting one of his hands clench around her waist tightly.

"What?" Hadeel finally muttered a little baffled.

Within the next moment Bane thrust her out onto the road like she was a cigarette butt that he could no longer smoke. Hadeel hit the ground painfully, letting out a small whimper when she could feel the skin on her shin grate across the ground and tear through her tights like scissors through tissue paper. Finally coming to a stop she looked around to see where she was, but she didn't recognize the place, she was near an alley with a great expanse of street and buildings on either side of her. Hearing the roar of the motorcycles leave her ears Hadeel looked up suddenly to see if she could catch any sight of them in front of her, but they were already gone.

Pulling herself to a sitting position Hadeel frown and murmured complaints when she saw that her shin was already bleeding and burning angrily, the wound was about as big as her palm and already the blood was dripping down her leg. There were other placed along her body that were also banged up pretty badly, her elbows felt hot and her left hand had lost quite a bit of skin on the knuckles when she'd tried to stop herself mid skid.

"My only nice dress," she muttered softly to herself. Looking down at her clothing she frowned sadly when she saw that there were a couple holes and tears from just sliding on the road, what an awful day today was.

The only good part was that Hadeel was no stranger to pain and could ignore the burning hotness of her wounds and stand up without whimpering in pain or feeling too much agony course through her veins. Wobbling unsteadily on her feet Hadeel began to take off her boots so she could walk easier, the boots had a bit of a heel on them and that was something she had always hated and made her feet ache. Holding them in one hand she began to just walk, perhaps Bane would come back for her, perhaps not, regardless of that, Hadeel was pretty shaken up from what had happened that night. She just wanted to get home and forget it ever happened. Though she was sure nightmares would haunt her while she slept that night.

Hearing something behind her Hadeel turned to see a man walked briskly in the same direction that she was, and by briskly it would mean that it looked like he was almost running at her. Feeling fear rise like bile in her throat again Hadeel turned around sharply before walking faster herself, surely they couldn't coming for her. What kind of luck would she have if right after she got left behind someone came to get her? Very bad luck.

The footsteps only sounded closer so without too much thought put into it Hadeel began to run, sprinting as fast as she could away from the man, feeling the pain in her shin burn like a fire sweeping across her leg she limped slightly. Letting her boots fall behind her she felt like the sound of the man's footsteps behind her were echoing in her mind, telling her that he was only getting closer to her even as she ran. Taking a quick glance behind her Hadeel saw that the man was running full power at her and that he wasn't very far behind her. Turning back to look in front of her Hadeel thought that she saw a gun hanging off of him somewhere, so he must be one of Bane's men then.

Closing her eyes tightly for a second Hadeel tried to pump her legs faster, blocking the man with a gun out of her mind until she felt something close around her arm tightly, yanking her backwards until she came into contact with another body. Quickly turning sharply towards the man Hadeel lashed out with her arm in a sort of karate stance, with her fingers stretched out and pressed together. She'd never taken karate but always insisted that if one was to hit someone in the throat it would immobilize them for a little while, or for at least like ten seconds or something.

The man was faster than she would have ever thought he would be, catching her wrist and deflecting her wimpy attempt to hit him. Hadeel grunted in anger and frustration before trying to kick at him, feeling the fiery pain in her shin made her speed lessen and the man easily caught her leg and pushed her onto the ground. Letting a small growl pass her lips Hadeel stared up at the man with furrowed brows and a defiant expression on her face.

"You can struggle, but in the end, I'm taking you with me," the man said sternly. Hadeel stopped when she heard the accent in his voice; it was an interesting difference from his voice to hers, something that Hadeel had to scold herself for thinking of. She'd always liked accents, but now was definitely not the time to admire one, especially if the guy was trying to kidnap her.

"Why?" She questioned feeling terror grip her heart. Why was everything bad happening to her tonight? "Just take a rock and say I turned into it," she mumbled under her breath. Feeling embarrassment flush her face she turned away from the man, had she really just said that aloud?

"What?" The man questioned wondering if he' heard the girl right or not. Glancing around the streets quickly he advanced on her, pulling out a cloth that Hadeel almost smiled when she recognized before she remembered that it knocked people out.

"There's nothing special about me, no one will care that I'm gone," she tried to insist. "You won't gain anything by taking me," she said backing away from him as he walked closer. Throwing out feeble attempts to keep him away the man caught her wrists with ease, putting them in one hand before speaking to her in a wise voice.

"I know, but you're the Songbird," he said towards her softly.

Turning frigid under his gaze Hadeel didn't have time to react to his quick movements as he shoved the cloth in her face and onto her mouth. Feeling frantic for a few moments Hadeel thought back to what she had said not moments before, what would her parents say when she didn't come home that night? Would they freak out because of the news that the Stock Exchange had been hit by thugs with guns? Would they look for her? Or would it be exactly as she said? No one would care.

Staring up at the man quickly Hadeel let her eyes soften before she lost consciousness and her world turned black. If no one would care that she was gone why would she want to go back to a place where she was not cared for or recognized?

030

Barsad stared at the girl wordlessly, the look in her eyes just before she'd passed out had been different then the fearful strength that he had seen as she had been trying to fight back. It was as if she had accepted what was happening to her, that perhaps she realized the truth in his words or in her own, that she would be coming with him no matter what.

He'd been surprised when Bane had told him that the Songbird had escaped her cage and was out in the city, that he had the job of catching her and bringing her back to the sewers. Clipping her wings, as Bane had said.

At first the girl had run, which he had been expecting, a limp in her gait meant that she was injured and yet she was still running pretty well, nothing that Barsad couldn't catch up to, but still, he'd expected less of the girl. Bane hadn't spoken much about the girl that he had been going to meet about every other day every so often; he'd just told Barsad the he had plans for her. He'd also showed him a picture of the girl explaining that Barsad would be the one to go get her when the time was right, that she was his Songbird.

There were no questions that Barsad asked Bane about the girl, for she was Bane's distraction, and Bane didn't like anyone joining in on his distractions.

The girls name was Hadeel, or Songbird, as Bane called her, and Barsad knew to look for short hair, but that was about it. The only reason she had been so easy to spot was because Bane had told Barsad exactly where he was going to drop the girl, so it had to be her.

Stooping down to pick her up gently Barsad remembered what she had said under her breath with a small grin. An odd thing to say to something trying to kidnap them, but perhaps that was the very reason why Bane had taken such a liking to the girl, because she was different and she didn't hide it.

But he had to wonder about something, Bane called her Songbird, so she must sing. Would she sing in a cage?

030

Waking up with a start Hadeel took a deep shuddering breath as the images of her dream shifted around in her head, fresh tears on her face made her falter as she tried to sit up.

She'd been standing in the middle of the street, nothing around her, no cars, no people; even the dark sky was empty of anything. Suddenly there was a dull thump that came from behind her, sounding much like a bag of sand hitting pavement, she turned to see that it was a person that had hit the ground. The dull sound of a motionless and lifeless body hitting pavement was sickening to her ears and made her stomach churn cruelly. Feeling tears well up in her eyes she turned away from the body to see another one fall in front of her, the same dull thud that she had heard not moments before began to echo in her mind as more and more bodies began to fall from the sky and fall onto the pavement like ragdolls.

A thickness prevented her from running suddenly as her vision began to get foggy with tears, the dream was changing and shifting as dreams liked to do, perhaps she was beginning to wake up. She had been trying her best to close her eyes and wake to her house, to leave such an awful dream but nothing was working. Looking down at her feet Hadeel saw the street beneath her shoes change suddenly, trying to move again she tripped and fell with a small splash in the new liquid beneath her. For a moment Hadeel couldn't quite figure out what it was, but as more and more bodies began to fall and splash in the fluid she could see the color of it. Red, lifting her hands quickly from the ground she almost screamed at what she saw, blood all around her, coated her hands.

It was blood.

That was when she'd woken up, shaking visibly from the memory of the sound of the bodies hitting the pavement, the splash of blood all around her, and the dark emptiness of being alone, all of it made her quiver. In her dream she had been crying profusely, so it didn't come as a surprise when she could feel the tears streaming down her face, sometimes when she cried in her dream she woke up crying. It was weird, but she didn't care about it right now.

Finally as she began to calm down a new sound found its way to her ears, the sound of rushing water that never let up, a soft sound that made her remember everything that had happened to her up until this point.

She was on a bed, with thin covers and a pillow that had run away during her dream to the side of her bed. Reaching for it slowly Hadeel gripped it like one of her old plush dogs that she had in her room at home, the softness of the pillow did little to calm her nerves as she remembered the dream and where she was. Bane and his men had gotten her, knocked her out just like they did in the movies, but where was she now?

In the faint light Hadeel could make out walls all around her, she seemed to be on a small observation area where someone had placed a bed and a small light. The only way off of the place was down a staircase that went along the wall and disappeared into a darker place than the one she was currently in. It smelled like a damp cave, and from the sounds of distant chatter she could tell that there were other people in the place, but who were they? Certainly not friends, she'd been kidnapped for goodness sake.

Where was Bane? The man that had caused everything to happen to her, the man that had taken her away when he really could have just left her at the Stock Exchange like he had left the other people, and yet, she was here instead. Glancing around the place quickly Hadeel pulled her legs out from beneath the covers and over to the side of the bed, staring curiously at her leg when she saw that her black tights were missing. In their place were a few bandages that Hadeel knew covered her wounded leg and perhaps a few other scratches.

Who'd bandaged her though? Hadeel barely let people hug her, let alone take off her clothing and take care of her wounds; she was the type of person who believed that if she could get it done herself there was no reason to ask for help. Even her arms were bandaged where she had scraped and marred them on the ground, her knuckles had a bit of bandage wrapped around them as well, making Hadeel feel like she had a mitten on her hand or something. Had it been Bane? He'd touched her and bandaged her with the same hands that he killed people with, which meant that Hadeel had death on her leg, but that was silly, wasn't it? Certainly she was being much too paranoid, but then again, who wouldn't be after what she had been through?

Letting her feet touch the cool metal grate of the floor Hadeel teetered for a moment before finally gaining the balance she needed and taking careful steps forward. Grabbing onto the railing that followed the staircase Hadeel made her way down the steps slowly, feeling her breathing become quicker and shorter as she let fear drown her mind with unwanted thoughts.

What did Bane want with her? Her parents didn't have money for ransom to buy her back, sometimes she wondered if they even wanted her at all, there was nothing she could give them of any value. Were they going to use her as further leverage for the police? There was one question that hurt Hadeel to think about, but she couldn't help but feel that it might be the truth in all the silly and frivolous questions in her brain. Had Bane been planning to use her all along? Had he been nice to her just to gain her trust? If that was the case then if Hadeel was ever set free or let out alive, for that matter, she would never trust anyone again.

Feeling the stairs quake beneath her Hadeel took longer strides to wherever the staircase ended, hoping that there might not be anyone else on the other side. Hearing the sound of metal creaking made Hadeel freeze for a second, she hadn't even thought about whether the staircase was safe at all, she just wanted to see what was on the other end of it. What if it just fell from beneath her feet and she disappeared into the sound of the rushing water? Would they even hear her vanish?

Would they care?

Feeling overly depressed for herself Hadeel took shaky steps down the stairs further, sighing slightly when she saw that there was another sort of level that someone was living on, or where they had setup a place to hang out and plan evil things. Relaxing slightly Hadeel was made aware of a pain that had been waiting for her to forget about being scared; her shin was calling out to her bitterly, reminding her that she had been tossed off a moving vehicle. There was a shake in her step that she had taken to be fear, but was instead exhaustion and soreness, things that Hadeel had always ignored.

"You should be resting," a familiar voice called out to her.

Looking up at Bane darkly Hadeel felt anger rising in her stomach, standing to her full height she watched him as he walked closer to her form with the same air of strength and power that he always carried. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, so many things she wanted to ask him. Did you pretend to be nice to me? But instead she bit her tongue and let something else bubble out.

"You threw me, like I was some," she stopped trying to find the right word. "Unwanted baby trout on a fishing trip," she finished giving him a hateful stare.

Bane chuckled at the expression on her face; somehow she always made the weirdest expression but still managed to get her point across.

"It was necessary," he explained shortly.

Hadeel scoffed at him and turned away, feeling like they were merely having a conversation like they did at her college, without worry, and without knowledge of what he really did. Suddenly feeling sentimental she turned away from him and stared at the metal grate beneath her feet, standing on it barefoot was beginning to hurt. She could already imagine what the imprint would look like on the bottom of her foot.

"Your wound has opened again," he said towards her. Hadeel cast her eyes towards her leg to see a few dots of red beginning to stain the white bandage; she always hated losing a bunch of skin to the concrete. They were the types of wounds that lasted the longest and were the most annoying, scabbing over and getting itchy.

"Stupid leg," Hadeel grumbled stooping down towards it. Intending to just move the bandage around slightly Hadeel began to unwrap it from her leg when a larger hand stopped her movements abruptly.

Bane stood in front of her holding a new bandage and his glare told her that she was not to touch her leg or even try to do anything to help it. Hadeel looked up at him distastefully as he began to kneel down in front of her. Feeling a bit of resentment towards him at the moment she stood up quickly, too fast for her leg to handle as she wobbled a bit, before looking down at Bane with an angry frown, thinning her eyes in irritation.

She hated feeling vulnerable and didn't like it when people did things for her, and here he was insisting without words that she was not to do anything at all. He had taken her away from the world, thrown her off a bike, and was treating her like a little kid. Still she could taste the bitter question on her tongue as he stood up and towered over her small form, had it all been fake?

"Don't help me," she grumbled before turning around to go back up the stairs. This feeling of helplessness that was washing over her made it hard to breathe; she could do nothing to change what was happening to her. The least she could do was change her own bandage.

Hearing heavy footsteps behind her Hadeel didn't even have time to react before a strong arm lifted her from the ground and brought her up the stairs more quickly then she could have handled by herself. Her feet didn't even touch the ground as Bane took her up the stairs to her own little domain. Hadeel realized in those small moments that the reason why she was up there was so the only person who could get to her was Bane. She wouldn't be able to do anything without the man knowing about, because he was right down the stairs, waiting, watching, and listening.

She felt nothing more than a child when he dropped her on the bed and sat down next to her, making the mattress sink considerably by his added weight she almost fell into him before she caught herself quickly. Grabbing onto her injured leg quickly he started to unwrap the red tainted bandage.

"I can do it myself," she protested trying to push away from him with her other leg. His response was grabbing her other leg and pinning it down with the weight of his own leg, casting a dark stare at her as a warning she huffed and looked away from him sharply.

His hands were gentle but firm, when she felt like he was loosening his grip he held fast to her leg, preventing her from any sort of motion. Finally giving up Hadeel felt a little humiliated, this was what every girl her age wished for, someone who would take care of them when they were injured, but for Hadeel. She wanted someone who recognized her for the fact that she didn't want any help, especially not from someone who killed people and lied to her.

"Why," her voice faded off when she lost her nerve. Glancing up at his face to see that he was staring at her intently before averting her eyes.

"I've been waiting for your questions little Songbird," he said going back to taking care of her leg.

"Why did you take me?" She finally asked him feeling her face burn. "I'm not something that someone would want," she murmured softly.

"Who told you that?" He questioned commanding her attention with his voice.

"No one," she said trying to get away from the question.

In truth it was her sisters and sometimes her friends that admitted they never thought anyone would go for her, because she was so weird and odd sometimes. Countless times her sisters would merely look at what she was wearing, or comment on her behavior and say, '_you'll never get a boyfriend._' Of course Hadeel would laugh, because there just words, but some things just never go away. When she spoke to Bane she'd even regarded herself as _something _and not _someone_, because everyone feels worthless sometimes, but a lot of people just never get out of that feeling.

Finally turning towards Bane Hadeel felt herself shy away from his gaze, it was stern and serious, but she didn't know why he wanted to know so badly, everything had been a ruse right? He didn't really want to know the answer; he was still pretending to care.

Friends were important to Hadeel, when she was younger she'd grown up in another state, she spent her childhood with a dozen or so friends that had frowned and cried when she left town for good, she was about ten or eleven. A couple years later her family went back for a visit, Hadeel was excited to see her friends, she wanted to see them smile and hug them when and tell them how much she had missed them.

But they didn't know her.

It was as if her childhood had been erased, her brothers and sisters still had people who remembered them, and they could smile and say _I missed you_, but Hadeel couldn't. No one seemed to understand, sure they smiled and patted her on t back, but Hadeel was too sad to care, she had no one who was waiting for her to return.

As a result of this she tried to remain friends with everyone, to smile the brightest and always be there for everyone, to never forget. It was even harder for her to admit things to her friends because she had been betrayed countless times, so why would Bane be any different. Sure he was a killer and a thief or robber or whatever, but for a moment, she thought of him as a friend, and right now she felt the familiar sting of betrayal.

"Who was it?" He pressed her for an answer.

"Everyone," she said softly. "My sisters, my friends," she said shaking her head once before looking up at him with a smile. "No one would want me, so why would you?" Her grin was fake and cheerful.

Bane finished bandaging her up in silence, letting her legs go he watched as she shied away from him to the other corner of the bed, turning her back on him and looking out at the water. She felt violated to say the least, he'd done it again, pried away at the barriers she'd set up to keep people out. Perhaps it was her fault, she said something that was unneeded and he'd wanted to know the reason behind it. Maybe she just needed to stop talking.

"You're my Songbird," Bane said catching her attention briefly. "Your wings are broken, and that's why I took you," his voice called out to her kindly as if he was speaking to a child.

Listening to him walk back down the stairs Hadeel looked down at her newly bandaged leg.

"Of course they're broken," she murmured softly.

030

When finally Hadeel had gotten to sleep again she woke up not two hours later with a gasp, another dream about the limp bodies radiated cruelly in her head and behind her closed eyes.

Taking a shuddering breath she let a soft sob escape her lips, holding her head in her hands as she remember the sound of bodies hitting the pavement from her previous dream. She was afraid that if she fell asleep again she would have to see them again, all the bodies.

Blocking out all her thoughts Hadeel listened for any sort of noise of chatter or talking from below, though the water did a good job of hiding anything too quiet away from her. She didn't want to go back to sleep, and still her mind seemed to flood with images of everything that had to do with dead bodies and painful emotions. Ignoring the fact that she didn't want to sing because that was one of the reasons why Bane had taken her, since Songbird meant singing, she grasped onto anything in her mind that made her calm. If she sang quietly no one would hear her right?

"Slow down you crazy child, you're so ambitious for a juvenile. But then if you're so smart tell me why are you still so afraid, mmm," Hadeel started of gently.

A song she had always loved for the lyrics and for the tone in which it was sung; it had always been one of her favorites to sing when she was alone. It was a song she liked to listen to more than she liked to sing it because it seemed to calm her down when she was stressed, but at the moment she could only sing it.

"Where's the fire what's the hurry about? You better cool it off before you burn it out. You got so much to do and only so many hours in a day, ay," her voice seemed to grow stronger with just about every word. Imagining herself in her room with a waterfall soundtrack playing in the background, her mind calmed considerably as the song continued. "But you know that when the truth is told that you can get what you want or you can just get old. You're gonna, kick off before you even get halfway through, oooh," she sang powerfully even with such a breathy voice.

Opening her eyes when she hadn't even realized that she closed them she sang the repeating line of the song. "When will you realize, Vienna waits for you."

Like most songs she sang Hadeel found real truth in the words, it was about growing up too fast and how one should take their time and enjoy life as it went by at its own pace, or at least that was what she thought it meant. For now it was just calming for her, even in the chaos was that currently her life she could sing and imagine herself elsewhere.

030

Bane was waiting patiently, sitting down near the staircase that led up to Hadeel he wondered about the hurt in his eyes when she had looked at him earlier, it could have been from her wound, but he knew better than that. He'd been forceful with her again when she refused his help, she certainly knew how to make him angry, but she needed to know that he was in charge, especially down here.

Finally something echoed softly throughout the sewers, he'd picked the spot by the wall because he'd figured out early on that sound echoed through the whole area at that point, and had decided that he would keep his Songbird there. Plus he could keep an eye on her, there was only one staircase that led up to her, and no one could get to it with him there.

Hadeel's voice grew louder as the song went on and Bane noticed the silence that had settled on the area, it seemed that everyone was straining their ears to listen to whatever was resonating so softly.

After Hadeel's voice stopped there was still a bit of uneasy silence about the place, as if everyone was waiting for another song or for something to happen, but there was nothing of the sort. And soon the sound of quiet chatter was back

Barsad had commented on how she might not sing in this cage that Bane had created for her, but Bane was sure that was not the case. Hadeel was someone that longed to be free of the things that held her down, and if there was a chance for her to spread her wings and escape, she would sing. Only birds that had given up would sit limply in the cage and stare at the window longingly.

Even a bird with broken wings would still imagine that they could fly away.

_"I just got lost. Every river that I tried to cross. Every door I ever tried was locked." **-Coldplay**_

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**AN: Phew, got that chapter out. Probably one of the longest chapters I have ever written, almost eight thousand words!  
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**What did you think? Do you still like it? m'**

**Thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter 7

**AN: If you commented about my being in the hospital I thank you. That mean's you read what the authors puts at the top and bottom of the page, which is awesome! I'm doing fine now, so enjoy the chapter.**

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_"On my worst, I'll do my best." **-Low Roar**_

**Chapter Seven**

With no way to gauge what time of day it was Hadeel was more or less lost when it came to trying to figure out if it was night time, or morning, or afternoon, or anything for that matter. For all she knew it could have only been a few hours since she'd gotten here, and all her thoughts and worries made it seem like much more time had passed, that was probably the case.

If anything Hadeel was starting to feel rather lonely, even in all the mess that was her present life, with being stuck in the sewers and all that goodness, there was still a longing for companionship that she knew would not get filled. Bane seemed to be the only person that would ever come to see her, and at the moment she didn't want to see him at all, because it still hurt, the feeling of betrayal that she couldn't get out of her head. It was a familiar feeling that she had felt many times, and that was why she hated it so much.

Letting her fingers trail haphazardly across the bandage on her shin Hadeel remembered the strong yet gentle touch that Bane had shown her when he was fixing up her bandage. Though she also remembered the way he'd picked her up so abruptly and carried her up the stairs like a child, so forceful, he seemed to have a quick temper. At least when it came to her anyway, did that mean she was aggravating?

Hearing footsteps coming up the stairs Hadeel turned back towards the water rushing to the ground again, showing her back to whomever it was that was coming up the stairs. Recognizing that the steps weren't as heavy as her 'friend' Hadeel waited to see if the man would talk to her or not.

"Bane wants you to eat," he said curtly.

There was a small sound of a metal clink as something was placed on the table near the stairs, Hadeel made no move to turn around, she was hungry, but she didn't feel like eating right now. But she recognized the voice; it was the same man that had chased her down on the street, the man responsible for bringing her here in the first place. When a few steps told Hadeel that the man was leaving she panicked slightly, it had been nice to hear someone else's voice instead of the loneliness that the rushing water brought upon her.

"What's your name?" She asked still not turning around.

Hoping her voice had been loud enough to reach him she closed her eyes tightly when he didn't answer her, was she really going to be just left alone? There was no further sound of the man walking away, but there was no hint that he was talking either, perhaps his voice had gotten lost in the monotonous sound of the water.

"Will you please tell me your name?" She added letting her head drop down a little. She couldn't bear this isolation that she had sitting all by herself on a platform away from any sort of life or distraction. Tempted to let something slip Hadeel almost added that she couldn't stand being alone at the moment, with the dreams still fresh in her mind she felt the need to cling to any sort of human companionship. Even if they were holding a gun and telling her that she couldn't escape.

"Barsad," his voice finally broke the air.

Reacting like she normally would Hadeel began to strike up any sort of conversation that she could, like she did when she was meeting new people and trying to get them to laugh.

"Huh," she scoffed softly. "That's an odd name," she muttered. "Not a bad name," she added feeling like making fun of the man that was probably holding a gun was a bad idea. "Just, different," she finished feeling embarrassment flood across her features.

"So is Hadeel," the man retorted making Hadeel laugh gently.

"I guess you got me there," she said turning to look over her shoulder at him.

Suddenly feeling an urge to argue with the man like she did with her friends Hadeel swallowed the feeling before she said anything regrettable or weird. Barsad looked different in the dim light of the sewers; she could see more features about him as opposed to when he had been chasing her on the street. And she wasn't quite as frightened now that he had already gotten her.

Turning around to leave her Barsad took steps towards the staircase before he heard her speak again.

"Thank you, for telling me your name, Barsad," she said turning back towards the water again.

Making no movement to go towards the food he watched as she slid off the bed and onto the metal grate that was the floor. Partially hidden by the mattress Barsad felt pity for the girl, she was merely a bird in a cage, a distraction for someone who had scissors in their hands. Even if her wings were ready for flight, he would clip them and keep her for himself.

"If you don't eat, he'll get angry," he warned her.

The food on the tray wasn't bad, an apple, a sandwich, some carrots, and a bottle of water. A good meal by any measure, something that a homeless person would devour in seconds and then thank whomever had given it to them gratefully. But Hadeel's stomach churned as the thought of eating.

"I'm not hungry," she said letting her form slump forwards even more.

Barsad gave her one last look before walking down the stairs, he hadn't planned on talking to the girl as much as he had, and he definitely didn't think she was going to ask for his name, but she did. If anything he was wondering when Bane would tire of the girl and he would find her limp form on the bed, but he didn't want to think about that. She was a nice girl, something Bane could easily break, but that didn't seem to be the plan.

Bane was gone for about half the day; Barsad came up to check on Hadeel every other hour, showed her to the bathroom and insisted that she was to eat something, but she had no appetite. It was a very boring half day for her, without anything to do but stare off into space Hadeel found herself thinking about Barsad and Bane. Perhaps if they had different lines of work and they had met upon another occasion their relationship would be different, after all, Hadeel thought Barsad to be a nice man. Bane was another matter, he'd shown her that he was definitely in charge down here, and that he wasn't afraid to use force with her. Granted it had been to help her bandage her leg, but her mind always flashed to the way he carelessly tossed people around and left them lifeless, she would never forget that scene.

She'd tried many things to keep herself occupied, and to make it feel as if she wasn't alone. Reciting monologues and short skits from when she had taken an acting class in high school, letting her voice drown in the sounds of the water. She'd transitioned over to trying to remember poems she had thought were interesting, changing her expressions and the volume of her voice. It'd kept her entertained for a while, though she had caught Barsad slightly off guard as he'd walked up the stairs to check on her and she'd been talking to herself.

He'd simply commented on the fact that she hadn't eaten and warned her that she should before big bad Bane got back. So she'd frowned at him and said that if she ate something her stomach would protest and send a complaint. The comment made him stare at her blandly, as if he'd been expecting such an answer, he then turned and walked back down the stairs.

The last time Barsad came to check on her he was curious when he was met with her back as she looked away from him and at the water that she seemed ever so fond of. The food tray was exactly where he had placed it, but the food was a little differently organized. It looked as though Hadeel had gotten bored enough to rearrange the food on the tray, leaving the sandwich the way it was but placing everything else on top of it she had stacked the apple on first before placing the water bottle on top of that carefully. She'd arranged the carrots in a way that made it look like a design; she's even tried to make a sort of smiley face with them.

Feeling a smile and a frown tug at his lips Barsad turned his attention back to Hadeel, taking a few steps closer he was sure she would say something to him when she heard his footsteps, but she said nothing. Very faintly Barsad could hear a melody wafting through the air around him, resonating slightly through the air he took more steps until he was at the edge of the bed and could hear Hadeel clearly.

He'd heard her sing the night before, Bane had given him a sort of knowing look because he'd doubted that a caged bird would even sing at all. Her voice was soft and though he couldn't hear all of the words to the song she sang it lightened his heart ever so slightly, calming his nerves and making him listen further. A sort of silence fell about the place as her voice rang out through the constant sound of the water; everyone was listening for the Songbird's voice. Little by little he was beginning to understand why Bane would want to hold on to such a person as Hadeel, one would want her song all for themselves.

There was a difference now; between the humming and the singing what she was doing now seemed more mysterious and intriguing. The mellow way in which the sound carried contrasted by the strong low notes she could barely reach, quickly her hum changed to a softer song. It sounded sad compared to the last song she had been humming. Quickly the humming turned into whistling and broke through the soft chatter that always seemed to accompany the men around.

Hadeel didn't notice anything at all, she'd gone into a sort of dreary mood where nothing seemed to matter and she didn't care about anything. At first she thought she'd occupy herself with creating a sculpture out of the food, but that had lasted all of two minutes before she found her stomach growling in anticipation. She still didn't want to eat, she wanted to go home, or perhaps she didn't, but her mind was a mess at the moment and she didn't know what she wanted. Certainly though, she didn't want to eat.

It was when she started wondering about the time again that Barsad had come up unnoticed by her. For some reason she felt that the air had gotten colder so she wrapped herself up in the blankets and faced away from the stairs grumpily. Starting off with humming she began with movie soundtracks that she particularly loved, and that list stretched long so she had a lot to choose from. When a sadder more melancholy song popped into her head she changed to whistling, stretching the notes and letting them fade off she felt herself frown sadly. Clair de Lune was a song she loved, sometimes her mother would brag about how she could play anything on the piano and Hadeel would make her play it. She'd even played Clair de Lune in her high school marching band one year.

Her notes were strong and loud and Hadeel paid them no heed, letting her emotions run wild on her mind she wondered if Bane would ever let her go or if she was to stay down here for however long he wished her to. Would she ever see her family?

"Nice sculpture," a voice broke through her thoughts. She'd about finished whistling the song when Barsad had finally said something, unbeknownst to her he'd already been standing there for a few minutes.

"It's a masterpiece," she joked with a forced chuckle. Barsad wouldn't care that she was sad, he would probably think it normal for anyone who had gotten kidnapped, and it was pretty normal anyway. But Hadeel went back to her habit of hiding things from people; he would probably just tell her that she needed to eat something before walking off again. "I should eat something right?" she questioned in a bitter voice.

"Yes," he responded without response to her tone. "He will be back soon," he explained.

"You've taken me away from my home, away from the rest of the world, what else are you going to do with me?" She mumbled under her breath sullenly. There was nothing to do up in her little cage but think, to wonder about the reason behind Bane taking her in the first place, and to dwell on all of her ill feelings. She'd had enough of being alone, even reaching out to her kidnappers seemed like a good idea at the moment, not that she despised them or anything, but they weren't exactly friends.

"Pardon?" Barsad said hearing her voice but not her words.

"I'm sorry," she murmured loud enough for him to hear. Turning to look back at him Barsad noted the way her eyes fell on his before looking away rather quickly, as if she was shy or ashamed. "I'm a terrible hostage," she chuckled feeling that her comment was ironic. Why should a hostage ever feel and voice the fact that they were awful, normally they wouldn't give a rip and just scream at their captors to take them home.

"You are," he said shortly.

A smile spread across his face when Hadeel looked at him with an angry baffled look on her face, he wasn't supposed to agree with her he was supposed to-. Well she wasn't quite sure how she had been expecting him to respond, but certainly she hadn't expected him to play along.

"Enjoy your food," he said dropping the smile and turning to leave her.

"Barsad!" Hadeel's voice seemed urgent to his ears.

Turning to look at her he eyed her expressions carefully, as if he was studying a target or trying to pick out lies. Her face showed clear emotion at first, hesitation, sadness, worry, and finally determination. He had to admire the way her face showed such clear emotion to what she was feeling, and her facial expressions were always something to marvel at.

"Yes?" He questioned when she did not speak further.

"How long do you think I'll be here?" Her eyes searched until they were locked with his own. Barsad stared her down until she looked away nervously; perhaps she thought she'd just asked a forbidden question.

Hadeel looked away from Barsad with a jerky motion, realizing that she might not like the answer that he was going to give her, maybe they were going to keep her here forever. Of course she doubted that was the case, Bane and Barsad would definitely tire of her if she was always around, wouldn't they? Would she see sunlight again? How pale would her skin get if she never went outside again? She'd probably look like an alien after a few years.

"You'll have to ask Bane," Barsad responded calmly. "Maybe if you eat your food he'll answer you," he muttered before turning around and walking down the stairs.

Hadeel grumbled and scoffed at his retreating form, why was it so important that she ate? When she was in the hospital she went at least three day without eating anything, and she'd been fine! Save for the fact that she couldn't really walk, felt faint when she tried to stand, and had the urge to vomit when she did try to eat. The point is that she could not eat one meal and it wouldn't kill her, or even cause her serious stomach growling or anything of the latter.

Grumpily letting her face fall back onto the mattress Hadeel grabbed her thin blankets and made a sort of cocoon around herself before she felt a little squeezed for air and flailed around until she was free of her constraints. She couldn't sleep anymore, she'd been trying all day since Bane had been gone to simply sleep the time away, but sleep would not welcome her.

Sitting up suddenly Hadeel got a more mischievous idea in her head. If she walked down the stairs would Barsad be waiting at the bottom like Bane had the night before? Was he guarding her or did he merely walk around after checking up on her only making sure that no one else went near the staircase? If he was then Hadeel would simply turn back around and go back up the stairs, but if he wasn't, she could explore. She had always been too afraid to explore the sewers by herself, to walk in without knowing if there was some creepy hobo waiting to kill her. But since she was already here, exploring would be a lot less daunting, minus the guys walking around with guns that is.

Carefully pulling herself to the side of the bed Hadeel reveled at the feeling of cold metal beneath her feet; even if it was a grated surface and she would hate it later it felt nice for the moment. Taking slow steps towards the stairs she made sure that her footsteps made no sound against the steps that led below. Passing through the darker part of the stairway she sighed with relief when Barsad was not waiting next to the stairs or was even anywhere near it for that matter. This meant that she could at least explore for a little bit.

Taking a few steps past the entrance to the stairs Hadeel turned her head when she heard voices approaching her, waiting for Barsad to show up around the corner she wondered if she could make it any farther and hide from him. Only when the voices finally turned the corner did Hadeel see Bane's hulking form stop short when he saw her staring at them, Barsad followed his eyes and more or less glowered at Hadeel.

Making an odd expression, with wide eyes and an almost silly looked frown Hadeel felt as if she was a child that had just been caught sneaking out of bed at night. She hadn't even considered the fact that Bane would come back as soon as she had gotten down the stairs, it hadn't even registered that it could happen. Feeling very much embarrassed there was nothing she could do now but turn back the way she had came, especially since Bane seemed to be a little ticked off at something. His hard powerful eyes weighed down on her like her younger sister did when she had been a little heavier and wanted a piggy back ride.

"I'll just," she started off softly with a slow voice. "Go back up the stairs," pausing slightly after each word she watched the two of them stare at her. Without any further words she let her frown deepen before she turned around and rushed back up the stairs, making a great deal of noise that was muffled by the rush of the water.

Jumping on the bed when she reached her own little lair she snatched up the blanket and wrapped it around herself before retreating to the side of the bed. She sat on the grate on the opposite side of the stairs that was hidden partially by the mattress, making sure that her back was covered by the blanket as well as her head. She probably looked like some weird sort of marshmallow child.

It seemed like ages before Hadeel could hear the thunderous steps that belonged to Bane coming up the passage of the stairs, she had been waiting for him ever since she'd turned into a marshmallow child. When his steps stopped and she could hear him breathing but a few feet away she tensed and pulled the blanket around her tighter.

"You have a question for me," he stated firmly.

Barsad had told him what had happened with Hadeel, how she wouldn't eat anything and that she had a question for him, something that only he could answer. Barsad had mentioned that if Bane didn't mention the fact that she had had a question she might not ask it again, and Bane had to agree, he knew that was how Hadeel was.

Hadeel was a little peeved at the fact that Barsad had told Bane about it, and that he more demanded an answer from her then even asked if she had a question in the first place. Maybe she didn't want to ask him and that was why she had asked Barsad in the first place!

"Maybe," she finally responded to him.

It was silent for a while after that, both of them waiting on the other person to say something Hadeel almost jumped when Bane finally sighed and she felt the bed move slightly. He'd sat down apparently.

"I can wait here all night, little Songbird," he said making Hadeel frown beneath her blanket cloak.

"Is it night time?" She questioned feeling a bit of excitement rush in her when she finally was told what time of day it was. A second later she caught herself and strangled her excitement before she let it show in her words and tone of voice. "I wouldn't know," she let her voice get a bit edgy.

"You haven't eaten anything, aren't you hungry?" His voice almost chilled her skin; she'd been expecting that question.

"No," she replied shortly. Pulling her knees to her chest Hadeel let her response cut the air in half, an icy reply that neither of them had been expecting.

"You need to eat something little Songbird," he pushed her with his voice.

"I won't," she said bitterly before letting her head rest on her knee.

Hearing a shift in the mattress Hadeel barely had time to blink before she was pulled off of the ground and onto the mattress forcefully, the blankets was yanked off her form before she felt hands pin her flailing wrists down to the bed. Angry eyes stared down at her when she looked up at Bane with a bit of shock and fear, turning away from his gaze she looked at the wall. His heavy form over hers made her remember all the movies and T.V. shows where this might have been something that someone wanted, because it would mean something different. Perhaps it would mean that they cared for the person trapped beneath and wanted to look them in the eyes, but with Bane it just felt different

"Hadeel," his voice was cold and stern.

Hadeel had to think back to all the times they had met and talked, had he ever called her Hadeel? It was always little Songbird, little Songbird, the nickname that she'd earned for her voice and for other reasons that Bane had not made clear. She couldn't remember him ever saying her real name, not like this. It was dark and threatening the way he spoke her name and Hadeel felt like she was a tyke again and her parents were using her whole name to show her how angry they were with her.

"Look at me," his voice demanded her eyes.

Stalling for as long as she could Hadeel felt the grip on her wrists tighten painfully before she finally looked back up at him. Glaring at him defiantly she kept a stern expression on her face, even if she was frightened and felt increasingly vulnerable she wouldn't let it show on her face.

"How long are you going to keep me here?" She finally let the question slip past her lips.

There was only one reason why Hadeel didn't want to ask Bane any questions, or to be asked any in return for that matter, and that was because he always seemed to shake everything she stood on. The words she told herself at night to keep her going the next day, the lies she hid behind, all the fake smiles, and all the happiness. She'd perfected the image that she carried around with her every day, and very scarcely did she let something, some kind of raw emotion, slip past her carefully constructed prison and into the real world. Because by now she knew that the world was not kind, even when she thought she was safe, that her emotions and feelings would be sheltered and cared for, they weren't.

Then there was Bane and the way he was forceful with her, and not just with his words but the way he handled her, the fear seemed to elicit truth from her heart succeeding where others had failed. He quite simply walked past all her fakeness and pointed out when she was trying to trick him into thinking she was okay. He would take strong steps until he was at the end of her false emotions and she was the only thing left, hiding in the corner away from the light, she would cower from him.

"You want to go home?" He asked her dully.

For a moment Hadeel was a little bit shocked by his dry tone, keeping her gaze with him she let something new burst into her expression, something powerfully different. Pushing against his grip on her wrists she set her jaw tightly, grinding her teeth together before answering.

"Yes," she bit out at him.

He watched her with a bit of amusement in his eyes for a moment before he loosened his grip, but still he made no move to get off her, there was still a question that he wanted her to answer. And he wanted the truth.

"Do you think they miss you?" He asked coldly. Relishing in the stiff expression on Hadeel's face he watched as her face contorted briefly before she turned away from him and closed her eyes tightly before opening them again.

"Of course," she spat out bitterly.

With an icy chill Hadeel's mind went against her tongue, repeating the question in her mind and answering with a hateful and fearful tinge. Would they miss her if she never came back? Would they? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. No. She wanted to believe with all her heart that her parents and her sisters and her brothers would wait for her to return and cry when they learned what had happened, but she couldn't imagine it.

A couple times during her short lifespan Hadeel had gone missing, not really missing, just out and about without telling anyone, or because she did tell someone and they forgot. The first time she was a ref for a soccer game, and the coaches were relentless with their insults at her, the parents joined in and the game got a little crazy. The park she was at was only about a ten minute walk from her house, she had another game to ref but she left early, because she felt worthless. She couldn't even ref a simple soccer game, everyone had been so angry at her.

She went missing for about five hours.

Right away when she got home her sister was there, seemingly unaffected except for a relieved sigh that she tried to hide, when her parents got home they were angry with her, saying that they had gotten the police. That they were so scared that she was gone forever. It was the first time she'd seen her father cry. The second time she went missing she had been trying on a uniform for her high school marching band, she'd told her mother that she would be done at five, and to come pick her up early, because Hadeel's mother is always late. At seven o'clock she began to walk home by herself, uniform in one hand, saxophone in the other, backpack, and textbooks. When she got home her mother asked if one of her friends had taken her home, she'd forgotten about Hadeel completely. No tears shed, nothing changed, nothing happened, just a lonely, and very heartbroken Hadeel walked to her room with sore feet. Because her mother had forgotten her.

With Bane's question came pain and anger, she couldn't answer him truthfully for she was afraid of what her answer might be.

"Will they?" He pushed her further when he saw that her defiant emotions were beginning to crumble around her.

"Maybe," she mumbled out sadly.

"Will they truly miss you Hadeel?" He used her name again, making her close her eyes tightly.

"Stop it," she grumbled at him angrily. Opening her eyes in a sudden rage she glared up at Bane with a hateful expression on her face. Why did he always think he could pull the truth away from her lips, once couldn't just expect to get everything from everyone, just because he was huge and made of muscle didn't mean he was king of the world.

She'd found her answer already, seconds after he'd asked her she knew what her answer was, for it reminded her of her grandfather. When he'd passed away her family was so overcome with sadness that they cried and drove off into the night for their sadness could not be contained or sated. They went to his funeral and wept, remembering all the memories and smiles they had shared the years before, all the happiness. For a few months they would recall him and frown, their eyes welling up with tears and sadness would spoil their day. And then a year went by, and they could smile again, and laugh without having to frown in sadness, because they did not think of dear old grandpa anymore. He was gone, and everyone forgot about him and moved on.

Eventually, they would forget about her too.

Feeling the weight on her arms loosen Hadeel watched as Bane got off her and stood with his back to her. Sitting up shakily Hadeel grabbed at the blanket as if she were freezing; wrapping it around herself she sat with her back to him as well, happy that she was finally free of her restraints.

"Eat your food," he said before taking steps away from her.

Glaring at his retreating form Hadeel clenched her teeth bitterly before she sorted her thoughts out in a mad rush, finally snapping beneath all the pressure of keeping her emotions contained.

"At first they'd mourn me," she snapped coldly. Watching as Bane stopped walking and turned slowly to look her in the eyes, challenging her with his gaze. She held against his eyes, feeling the strength and power of his stare on her fueled her anger and made her continue further. "They'd cry out to the heavens, and ask God if he's taken me home," her voice rose considerably with her vigor.

Bane looked at her a little shocked, baffled even. He'd seen the girl a little frustrated and irritated before, but never had he seen her show such emotion as this. Such a raw anger, truthful words she shouted at him with something that was unique to her own person. An edge to her voice, something secret and hidden, Bane could feel the painful brokenness of the edge on her voice, as if it wounded her to say such things.

"But after a year or so," her voice got a little softer at this point. "They'll forget about me," she spoke. There was an iciness in her voice that made Bane almost shiver with anticipation, if he pushed her further than he already had, would he get more responses like this?

For a moment they shared a bit of silence, Bane stared at Hadeel with an expression that said he'd just discovered something secret, while Hadeel's own expression was a bitter frown of hatred. Her own confession made her angry, not that it bothered her to say such things, it was the simple fact that she was saying it to someone. Especially someone who often took to using force to get answers out of her.

"Thank you for your honesty," Bane said before walking down the stairs at a steady pace.

"You're not welcome," she murmured watching his retreating back.

Huffing at his absence Hadeel threw herself face first into the mattress, making the thin sheets rise slightly before coming to a lifeless rest. Growling darkly at herself, but mostly at Bane, she thought about her own answer. One line in particular seemed to haunt her thoughts more than the rest of them, seeming to resonate throughout her thoughts, it saddened her deeply to imagine such a thing happening.

'_They'd cry out to God in the heavens, and ask if he's taken me home.'_

When Hadeel was younger she'd seen a snippet of a movie, she'd never learned the name of it or would've even remembered it for that matter. The only scene that was stuck in her mind was one that happened near the end of the movie, it might have even been the ending of the movie. There was a little girl in the movie that had been the main characters younger sister; she followed her sister when she ran away into the woods. There was a river with a small bridge to cross over it, the little girl fell in the river and drowned, and the older sister blamed herself. The only other part Hadeel remembered was when she finally broke down after her sister's funeral; she'd fallen to her knees and screamed at the blue sky above her. Asking God why he had taken her little sister from, yelling in agony she cried out and cursed God, pleading with the heavens to treat her like a princess, for it was the least they could do.

Hadeel could only imagine her parents looking up at the sky and asking God if she was home, if he had finally opened his arms and taken her back. And yet at the same time she could imagine them not caring at all, and perhaps this thought was the most painful of all. For if one of them died surely she would yell at God, and ask him why he had torn someone away from her life, she would cry out to him, wouldn't she?

Finally letting out a deep sigh she clutched a pillow to her tightly, when was the last time that she'd lost her nerve so completely like that? It'd been a long time to say the least, and somehow it felt good, like a small weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Perhaps she'd made her quota for expressing her feelings for that month, a silly thought. A smile graced her lips faintly while thinking about how it would actually be if she had such quotas like that.

Sitting up slowly Hadeel scratched at her neck irritably, already it seemed scratchy and sore from suddenly shouting at Bane. A curious thought struck through her when she wondered how her voice would sound if it was raspy when she tried to sing, would it sound cool?

"There's a shadow in the door-frame," she tested out the first line of a random song.

She'd found it by chance on the internet and had only been able to memorize half of it, but she loved it because it told a story that could have hundreds of different meanings. Though the title of the song was Untitled and Hadeel had tried many times to give it her own title she was still unsuccessful, there was too much to name.

"With a hunger for the highway. The poison from a bee sting. The mirrors on the ceiling," she marveled at the slight rasp in her voice.

It was odd compared to her usual tone, but somehow with the song it felt right. With this feeling rushing through her Hadeel's voice grew stronger and louder, just as it had been when she was shouting at Bane. Suddenly feeling a bit more of the same anger washing over her she could feel the roughness in her throat that had not bothered her moments before, it ached slightly. But she pushed past it, wanting to finish the song before her voice completely gave up on her.

"The thunder and the lightning. The hibernating voice sings out, and I shake the hand of the seamstress. Pinning up the clouds like patches, a little bit blue around the edges." Her voice seemed to get hoarse as she continued to sing, and Hadeel knew that the next time she woke up she wouldn't much like the feeling of swallowing.

But it didn't matter, as long as she was singing everything was fine. Perhaps the only thing that Hadeel felt was at all appealing about herself was her singing voice, of course that opinion was only valid when she was singing alone. She'd imagine that other people liked it as well, that perhaps she'd write a song and somehow everyone would suddenly know her name, but that was just a folly fantasy.

Whatever it was, possibly the mere sound of her voice to her own ears reminded her of singing alone in her room, where she knew that she was safe because she was alone and she could lock the door. As long as she could sing, she could smile and pretend that everything was okay. Maybe she really was a Songbird.

030

Bane listened intently to Hadeel's voice, so soft and wispy and yet so confident; he could barely hear it through the sound of the water. She sounded lucid, the tone in which she sang, the rasp her song usually didn't carry, it was a different way for her to sing, and Bane liked it all the more. He wondered faintly if when she was sad would her voice sound broken and edgy, if she was happy would it sound as clear as the night sky, and if she was serene would it lull him to sleep?

Everything, he wanted to hear all her voices and see all her emotions and expressions, slowly he was beginning to break through the face that she showed everyone, the mask that she always wore. Little by little he was beginning to break away at it; perhaps today he had taken off a slightly larger chunk than usual. She had shouted at him, if it was anyone else he would've been angry and irritated. But it was his Songbird.

All he cared about was the truth she was speaking, the honesty on her tongue and in her heart, and the way her voice had sounded as she spoke. For it had been ever so strong and clear.

_"To make it seem, like I am happy."**-Low Roar**_

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**AN: I had written something completely different for the last thousand words of this chapter, ended up erasing it, which was saddening, but it had to be done.**

**Anyway, what did you think?**

**The song Hadeel sings in this chapter is called Untitled by Sea Oleena, really melancholy, if that's what you like.**

**Oh, I'm also wondering if anyone recognizes any of the bands I mention, or if perhaps I'm the only one that listens to this music...**

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 8

**AN: I'm sorry its been a little while, I apologize. School had been crazy for me since the term is almost over, in fact finals are this week, so my next chapter should be coming sooner since its pretty much summer for me. Thanks for all the reviews, enjoy the chapter.**

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_"I'm feelin' like I keep on talking. I'm repeating myself, my words lost all meaning." -**The Downtown Fiction**_

_****_**Chapter Eight**

Hadeel woke with a start, shivering as if she were in a blizzard of some sort she looked around at the surrounding sewer. Bodies still plagued her dreams and made her cry even in her nightmares, leaving behind dried streaks of tears on her cheeks and on the sheets. Clutching the blankets with a trembling hand Hadeel let out a choked sob before she quieted herself; if Bane heard her, would he come to see what was wrong?

Shuffling through her thoughts Hadeel remembered the sting of betrayal that accompanied thoughts of Bane; she'd forgotten that he'd only gotten close to her so he could kidnap her. Or perhaps that wasn't the case, but all she knew was that it hurt, and even though she had more or less forgotten the feeling the day before it still lingered within her heart. Like a bitter cough that refused to leave the body it was poisoning her mind and her emotions, it reminded her of what she wanted to forget.

Feeling vulnerable at her own thoughts Hadeel pulled the sheets tighter before closing her eyes and willing herself to sleep again, wanting to rid her mind of thoughts about Bane, and praying that she wouldn't have another nightmare.

Of course praying and hoping don't always work, for as Hadeel began to fall into a deeper sleep her mind went to work against her. All of a sudden she was in a cage, grasping at the bars in front of her she gazed out into the smoldering peach colored sky, glancing in all direction to look for a way out. The bars in front of her seemed to get larger and warp slightly around her fingertips, making her jerk her hands away from it quickly she took a step backwards. Turning sharply to glance behind her she looked back towards the bars to see that they were twisting and contorting into the form of a man she did not know.

Suddenly he reached out for her, a sickening smile spreading inhumanly across his face, Hadeel backed away from him until she saw the bars on the other side of the cage pass her by.

"Won't you sing for me little Songbird?" Hadeel thought his voice sounded like twisted metal. A screeching sound that made her cringe and pull even farther away from him. A sudden heart wrenching feeling gripped onto her heart when she felt her feet fall through the floor as she stepped past the bottom of the cage and into open air.

For a few seconds she fell before she grabbed onto the bars and saw the bottom of the cage. The disgustingly peach colored sky looked over her and surrounded her like a small room would suffocate a claustrophobic individual. The color made her feel sick and she looked quickly to the cage above her to see that the man was taking slow steps towards her side of the cage now. Each foot step he took sounded like the soft thump of what she remembered as bodies hitting the floor with a sickening thud that seemed to resonate in her ears.

"Sing!" Hadeel heard the man yell at her with his screaming metal voice before she let herself fall away from the cage.

Looking towards the ground Hadeel felt her stomach and throat get tight with fear and the itch to cry, closing her eyes tightly she tried her best to wake from the dream. That somehow she could escape it before she saw the ending and what would happen to her. Glancing to the side of her Hadeel almost cried out in fright when she saw someone else falling to the ground with her, looking closer she saw that there were more people on every side of her. She was curious until she figured out that these were the bodies that always fell in her dreams, and now she had turned into one. When she hit the ground, she would make the same sickening thump as all the other dead bodies that hit the ground and remained motionless.

Turning sharply back towards the ground Hadeel's eyes widened slightly before she hit the ground, the noise echoed in her ears as she woke with a gasp and a small jump. Snapping her eyes open she was met with the same surrounding scenery of the sewers that she had seen for the past two days. Normally she would frown and wish she was at home, but for now it was a relief next to the dream world that she had just left. So she smiled faintly and let another slow sob escape her lips, burying her face in her hands she didn't even notice that there was someone sitting on the bed until he spoke.

"A nightmare?" Bane asked shortly. Hadeel jumped slightly and jerked her face towards him suddenly, looking at him with a slightly pained expression before casting her eyes away from him.

Why was he here? Had he been watching her toss and turn, listening to her wake every few hours? Hadeel nodded numbly, not trusting her voice at the moment, if she started talking now there was no guarantee that she could keep that voice stable and unwavering.

"Will you tell me about it?" He pushed her further, hoping to hear her voice.

Hadeel merely shook her head making Bane sigh at the girl. She was clearly shaken by whatever she had just dreamed about; there was still a tremble in her form that she was trying hard to get rid of. The way she glanced at him showed that she was slightly uncomfortable that he was here at the moment, but there was a reason that Bane had come up here. He'd noticed that Hadeel spoke more easily to Barsad than she did to him, and perhaps he was slightly jealous of that, or maybe angry is the correct word. She was his Songbird, she should talk to him.

Shifting his weight around Bane moved a little more towards Hadeel, close enough that he could touch her if he reached out. Hadeel moved her head up slowly to watch him move towards her, cautious of the fact that she really didn't want him to be there right now.

"Hadeel," he spoke her name again. This time it was different though, instead of stern and demanding it was soothing and calm, she never thought her name could be spoken like that with such a voice as his. "Tell me about it, perhaps it won't be nearly as frightening," he said leaning towards her slightly.

At that moment Hadeel looked up at Bane with a hard sort of expression that said yeah right, giving him such a disbelieving look almost made Bane chuckle softly. She turned away from him again, shaking her head ever so slightly before burying her head in her arms and pulling her legs up to her chest.

"I keep dreaming about dead bodies," she murmured into her arms.

It took Bane a moment to remember that she had, in fact, seen him kill all those people in the lobby of the stock exchange. Yet he had forgotten to think about the fact that Hadeel's mind was far more innocent and sheltered than he could even suspect. He'd found out during one of his listening to her and her friends that she could barely even handle the silliest horror movies, and this had happened in real life. Her mind was probably of mess of fear and frightfulness, full of images that he had grown so accustomed to he'd forgotten to worry about what it might do to his little Songbird. Of course his first thought was that of her being extremely weak, but he already knew that, and she knew it herself, so there was no reason to point it out.

"You're probably sitting over there thinking something like, holy Moses, what a wimpy little girl she is," she muttered more or less reading his mind. "But," when she said this her voice darkened slightly. Bane tried to get a better view of her face and was only successful enough to catch a glimpse of her eyes as they hardened ad cleared of any clouded emotion. "I cannot imagine killing someone, nor can I forget seeing someone do it so easily," she murmured turning so he could not see her face anymore.

Bane was a little impressed with her, besides the fact that there was no reason for her to be frightened, not when he was near and wouldn't let anything harm her anymore. But she was being truthful with him and he didn't have to use any force, so perhaps she was learning, or maybe the best time to talk to her was when she woke from a nightmare. He'd have to try again the next night.

"Once you see more bodies you'll get used to it," he said trying to think of what else he could say. A small chuckle made Bane turn towards Hadeel as she looked over at him with a large frown on her face, for a moment he was brought back to the way she acted during their conversations at her college. Back then, before she knew who he was and what he really did she would talk to him as a friend, just as she spoke to everyone else.

During that time he'd grown accustomed to her odd expression and faces, the way she could twist her facial expression to perfectly fit her mood made him smile from time to time. It was only when he brought her here that her expressions seemed to disappear, though it was only when she made one of her expressions that Bane realized that he missed seeing them as he had used to. When it came to making people laugh and feel welcome Hadeel was definitely someone who knew what to do. Bane could only imagine what her friends would do if they saw her cry, or shiver from fear as she was doing right now.

He couldn't imagine them reaching out for her and telling her that everything would be okay, for her himself might not know what to do with her right away. So her friends of a few years or even for just that term of school would possibly let her cry and give her empty words with no meaning. But Bane had to wonder if he would ever see that side of her anyway, so far she was impeccably good at hiding all her emotions besides happiness.

"That's great advice," she said sarcastically. "I bet when I kill a person for myself, I won't even bat an eye," she said with a fake prideful voice.

Now that she was on this ridiculous topic of killing people and getting used to dead bodies and not being afraid Hadeel felt the need to keep spewing sarcastic remarks. Regardless of whether or not Bane might get angry, or by the fact that he could get annoyed with her comments and snap her neck, though she doubted he would do that. She was just tired of him being all high and mighty when it came to explaining things and getting information.

"And I suppose I'll turn into some killing machine, and I'll just keep going like a terminator or something," she looked up at him with a bit of an angry fire in her eyes. He didn't understand what it was like to be pulled away from something like her life; maybe a long time ago he had felt something similar. But for now Hadeel was just being bitter about everything.

"Perhaps," Bane said watching the whole rampage take place in front of him.

"And then I'll," she stopped for a moment. "I'll be able to leave everyone behind," her voice got softer as she spoke further. Losing her vigor and her mockery for now the words she spoke were things that she knew were even fearful of saying. "I'll be just like," she hesitated for another moment, taking a glance at Bane before looking away ashamed.

"Just like who little Songbird?" Bane asked. But he already knew the answer to the question; he just wanted to hear her say it.

"You," her voice was a mere whisper but Bane heard it and chuckled. Moving forward towards her slightly Bane watched as she leaned away from him inch by inch, as if she were shuffling away from an awful stench.

Giving her a light shove Bane saw her tense before he pushed her back down onto the bed, moving her bangs away from her eyes gently with his hand he tapped her forehead softly. Looking in her eyes kindly before moving away from her He got off the bed and made his way back towards the stairs; Bane let the sound of his footsteps ring out around him.

"We're having a guest tomorrow, go back to sleep," he said before starting back down the stairs.

Hadeel stayed where she was, when he'd pushed her back onto the bed her breath hitched up into her throat, she'd been doing so well to not upset him, what had she said that made him angry? Well besides the fact that she felt like she was openly mocking him or something of the sort, making fun of his lifestyle and whatnot.

She was almost petrified with fear at what was going to come next, he wouldn't hurt her, she at least knew that much, but she was still nervous as to what he would do. Hadeel was sure her wrists would bruise from the last time he wanted her to do something; they would be reminders of what she should and shouldn't do.

When he moved her bangs out of her face Hadeel held her breath waiting for whatever would come next, she'd pretty much called the man a heartless monster with the way she had spoken about such a lifestyle as killing. If she was anyone else's captive they would have easily slapped her across the face, or done a number of other things, but when it came to Bane Hadeel never knew what to expect. Gently, he tapped her forehead before pulling away from her, staring into her eyes with a tender sort of expression after which he turned away from her.

Hadeel almost didn't hear his words as her mind went wild with what had just happened, thought after thought raced through her brain as if she were trying to catch comments written on pieces of paper. If someone had called her a monster like she had Hadeel would have been pissed enough to shout at them at least. Why was Bane so confusing that he never did what she thought he was going to? Listening to his footsteps as he walked away Hadeel could almost hear nothing else besides the sound of his boots hitting the ground.

There was one question that bobbed to the surface of her mind, screaming out at her, wanted her to let it fall out of her mouth like a disgusting tasting meal.

Wasn't it lonely?

When Hadeel thought of such a lifestyle as she had described she could see herself as this lifeless sack of a body, walking around without rhyme or reason to do anything but kill people. She could imagine herself staring at other people's smiling faces in envy when she would come home to an empty house void of anything warm and comforting. Of course if she killed people she would always be on the run so there would also be that emptiness of never belonging anywhere.

It had to be lonely for Bane as well, right? Hadeel had barely touched or even thought about what it might be like to be in his shoes. Actually living like that was a whole different matter, and so with those small thoughts and realizations Hadeel felt a whole new emotion rise in throat like vomit. She felt bad for Bane, the smallest bit of sympathy rose and clouded her thoughts, poisoning and tainting everything she had thought previous to it.

Of course her mind was smarter than to let an emotion like pity dwell on all her other thoughts, this wasn't something that Bane had had thrust upon him. It certainly looked like he killed people for something that he had planned, so it was his fault that he was this way, why should Hadeel feel bad for him?

030

Slowly Hadeel woke from another dream, a more somber and solemn one that couldn't even compare to the ones previous. Mostly because she couldn't really recall what it was about, one of those fleeting dreams that escapes the mind as soon as one wakes and only leaves behind the emotion that overtook the dreamer. All Hadeel could remember was that it was a depressing sort of dream, one that made her gradually open her eyes as if she had been sitting in the dark and was afraid the sun would blind her. It hadn't been a nightmare, which made Hadeel slightly surprised as she unconsciously went to the spot where Bane had touched her forehead.

Snatching her hand away quickly she frowned at the thought of even acknowledging that Bane's simple gesture had helped her sleep better, that would be preposterous, and just plain weird. Hadeel would jump into the waterfall before she admitted that Bane had helped her sleep, well maybe she wouldn't jump in the waterfall. But it would certainly take a lot before she admitted to it.

Solemnly Hadeel recalled when she was younger and she would wake up at night from a nightmare and walk into her parent's room to sleep in the bed with them, or to even just sleep next to the bed. Most of the time it was better to sleep in the bed with them because if she slept next to it she would spend at least ten minutes staring at the darkness beneath the bed. Anything could be hiding under there, waiting for her to fall asleep so it could drag her under and kill her. That never happened, but it was always scary to look at.

As she got older and older Hadeel learned that she was expected to grow out of such habits, children were supposed to get tougher and be less afraid of the things that had always frightened them. With her younger sisters around she could no longer go into that room when she had a scary dream. Whenever she woke from a scary dream in the middle of the night she would clutch her stuffed animal close and back against the wall. At least then she would be able to see the creature when it came for her, closing her eyes tightly when she thought she heard a noise, young Hadeel would do her best to stay strong.

For a long time she'd never accepted help from anyone unless she absolutely had to, for example when she was in the hospital and she couldn't walk yet, that was when she let people help her. But anything else, expressing her feelings, talking about her worries, letting someone care for her, or just wanting someone to be near her. She didn't let herself have any of it, because she needed to be strong for when everyone was going to leave her all alone.

_Alone._

That one word often resonated through her mind like an echo in a large canyon, and for a moment she imagined her mother crying because she had not come home. That perhaps they did in fact miss her and the world was not as Hadeel had thought it to be. Of course there was the bitterness that flooded back into her mind that told her that they didn't miss her, and Hadeel had to agree with those feelings of bitterness.

_Perhaps she was meant to be alone._

The thought made her so sad that she felt her eyes water slightly before it faded, no one should have to be alone. Not when they have a family at home that is full of laughter and smiles, anyone would look at Hadeel's family and think that they were a great family, close and loving. But Hadeel knew better than to think that their family was happy and loving, they rarely ate dinner together and when they did it was full of bickering and anger. Her brothers rarely came home unless they wanted to steal some food from the cabinets or ask for some money. When they watched movies together it turned into an argument that ended with silence and sour emotions, they hardly even went out as a family anymore.

Smashing her head back down onto the blankets Hadeel blew out a breath of air and whisked away any thoughts of loneliness and sorrow. She had to deal with the task at hand. How was she going to get away from Bane and get back home?

_Did she even want to go home?_

She just couldn't get her mind off that thought; she didn't want to be alone! Who did she have here? Bane? Barsad? The people responsible for taking her in the first place, the people who wouldn't let her leave and forced words from her mouth. Who did she have at home? A mother who doesn't listen, a father who was never home, and two sisters that only cared for themselves. The only thing enticing about going home was that she could go back in her room and read books or go on the internet and disappear for a while.

Taking a deep breath Hadeel sat on the edge of the bed closest to the water rushing towards the floor, facing away from the stairs she felt words scratching at her lips, wanted to be released from the confines of her mouth. She often sang this song when she woke in the middle of the night to empty thoughts and depressing feelings, because for some reason it made her feel wanted.

Of course there were always people that told her that there was always someone that loved them, which if they were to suddenly die people would care and wish them back to the earth. But its one thing to say the words with good intentions to help and a whole never thing to hear those words and want to believe them. Because what's some empty words when compared to feelings and heartache that someone just can't deal with. That's what many people including Hadeel felt. It was nice and all, for people to reassure her that everything would be okay, that people cared, but it's so much harder to believe it.

After a while of hearing people tell her that she was wanted even though no one at home seemed to want her, Hadeel shut down. Little by little until she became the Hadeel everyone knows and _loves. _The Hadeel that lies to everyone.

"I dreamed I was missing," she started the song softly, with a sad air about it. "And you were so scared, but no one would listen, because no one else cared," that line always made her scrunch her nose and tear up for a second. "After my dreaming I woke with this fear, what am I leaving after I'm done here?" Her voice grew slightly with each coming verse as she remembered the words and the melody of the song.

She always wondered that if she was the one that was missing who would the _'you'_ person be? Certainly not one of her friends, but one of her family?

"And if you're asking me I want you to know, when my times done, forget the wrong that I've done. Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed," she sang this line a little softer. Of course she wanted to be missed, didn't everyone? It meant that someone cared about her enough to wish she was back with them. "Don't forget me, and when you're feeling empty. Keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest, leave out all the rest," she faded off softly at the last few words.

Hadeel wished that she could listen to the songs instead of having to sing them into the waterfall, it was apparent to her that her voice traveled as Bane always appeared to be able to hear her songs. Which was fine, except for the fact that Hadeel was embarrassed by her voice, she wasn't a very good singer. The only thing that always pushed her through her embarrassment was the feeling she got when she sang, when she started one of her favorite songs. Hadeel didn't care that someone could hear her, because when she sang out into the echoing unfamiliar sewer it made her feel like everything was okay. That perhaps her mother wasn't ignoring her, or that her father remembered to come to her band concert, and maybe she wasn't in the sewers but in her room, singing like she always did.

"Don't be afraid, I've taken my beatings, I've shared what I made," Hadeel smiled lightly at this verse.

When the song had first come out years ago her sister had thought that the singer had said _'shit'_ instead of shared, they'd argued about it when Hadeel said she was wrong. Finally they looked up the lyrics and Hadeel was right, her sister had made a nasty face at her and stomped away, probably because Hadeel teased her a little.

"I'm strong on the surface, not all the way through. I've never been perfect, but neither have you," her voice carried before she stopped at the end of this verse. It was exactly like her, on the surface she was always strong and smiling and nothing was wrong, but underneath all that there was a mess of a person trying to become organized.

Scrunching up her face Hadeel felt the rest of the song pushing at her lips, she knew the rest of it, but her new thoughts had silenced them momentarily.

"No more nightmares?" A voice broke her from her thoughts and made her turn towards Bane. He was wearing some type of vest thing that allowed for his muscles to show, he looked pretty beefy. That small thought made Hadeel embarrassed to even think about and she turned away from him quickly.

"Not really," she responded taking a glance at him. His eyes looked smug as he somewhat smiled at her. "Not because you helped or anything," she added before he asked for a thank you or anything like that.

"Of course not," his voice sounded the tinniest bit sarcastic. He already knew that he'd helped her, even if she wouldn't admit to it.

Then it was quiet, Hadeel wanted to comment about his beefy looking arms just for fun but she held it back and waited for him to say something. The silence was a bit awkward but Hadeel felt that if she said anything it would prolong his stay up in her little domain.

"Our guest will be here soon, you are not to sing or even talk for that matter," he explained turning to leave her alone again.

"Why?" Hadeel asked turning to look at him. At first she didn't answer her so she asked him again. "Bane, why?" She pressed him further with her question, who was this guest?

"Because you are my bird, and he will not hear your voice," he said in a cold voice that made Hadeel want to shiver slightly.

"But it's my voice and I can sing if I want to," she murmured casting her eyes towards his feet.

"If you sing I will punish you," he said ever so simply. Hadeel's eyes hardened at that comment, he would punish her? What kind of punishments did he dish out?

Taking a glance at Bane Hadeel saw that he was starting at her sternly, the intensity of his gaze stayed on her form even as she looked away from him defiantly. Only when he took a step towards her did Hadeel say anything else, the sound of his shoes on the metal grate made her jump slightly.

"I won't, I won't, okay?" She asked clenching her teeth bitterly and glaring into his eyes.

"Good," he replied simply. With that said he turned to leave her alone, and Hadeel listened to the steady rhythm of him walking back down the stairs and leaving her to her own thoughts of misfortune.

Shortly after their conversation it seemed like the lights dimmed considerably and left Hadeel wondering what was happening, who was the guest that Bane was talking about? The sewers grew deathly silent and Hadeel realized that if she spoke or sang everyone would hear her, including their guest. So perhaps that was the reason why Bane hadn't wanted her to sing?

A loud clang made Hadeel jump as something happened below her and resonated through the cavernous place. Only the sound of the ever present water in the background could be heard, as there seemed to be a hush on the whole place.

A dark throaty voice spoke out through the noise, mentioning something about a mistake before Bane's voice called out to the stranger's voice. The rough voice knew who Bane was, and Bane called the voice Mister Wayne, stopping Hadeel short with her thoughts and musings.

_Like Bruce Wayne?_

The rough voice reminded her of how people described the Batman's voice. Hadeel had been about ten or eleven when the Batman had disappeared when it was found that he killed Harvey Dent. Hadeel had felt slightly betrayed, as a child she had rooted for the Batman, she didn't believe that he was a bad guy who needed to get off the streets. Yet he killed someone else who was only trying to help, and that made him the bad guy, right? He'd disappeared and left everyone behind because he was the villain, which was the truth, right?

Yet no matter how Hadeel thought about it there was no way Bruce Wayne could be the Batman, he was just some rich guy who stayed in his mansion all the time. But he hadn't always been in his mansion, he used to go outside and party in the city all the time and go on vacation, it only seemed to stop about eight years ago. Eight years ago when the Batman vanished, they were the same people, they had to be.

Dull thuds brought Hadeel from her thoughts, thuds and thumps that continued with clangs and smashes, what were they doing? Fighting?

Soon the sewer was filled with noises of the fight, thumps of punches being thrown even a few cracks of bones being broken, Hadeel did her best to cover her ears, she didn't want to hear this. Why was Bane making her listen to this? Did he want her to suffer through nightmares for the rest of her life?

It sounded like they were killing each other.

Suddenly all the lights went out making Hadeel look around frantically as she tried to block the fight out, why was Bane doing this? All the Batman ever did was fight for the city, and perhaps he made a mistake and killed the wrong person, but he still saved so many lives before.

Bane spoke again, telling about he was born in the dark, the words rang out in Hadeel's mind while she tried to escape the reality that was her present life. She knew so very little about Bane that just hearing him talk about himself blocked out anything else she was thinking about, did that mean he was born in a cave or something? Was he born here in the sewers? No, no that would be silly, it sounded like some weird story a child would think of.

A massive explosion echoed throughout the sewers and made Hadeel duck her head into her pillow shakily as a light exploded into the area. Loud crashes brought Hadeel to her feet as a voice shouted in her head at her to run. It was the perfect chance to do it now while everyone was distracted.

Shakily Hadeel glanced around, her mind frantic with thoughts racing so quickly through her head she couldn't make sense of any of them, but this was her chance, she could make it out. She could get home and away from the death, killing, and murder that was Bane. She could go back the security that was her life, the smiles and the lies that made up her day; this was what she wanted, right?

Stumbling clumsily down the stairs Hadeel looked around the area when she got to the bottom where Bane or Barsad would usually be keeping watch for her or anyone else. There was no one there waiting for her, when she looked up towards the hole in the ceiling she saw that almost everyone was climbing up towards whatever was there. Very few people still remained in the sewers save for a couple men here and there, but they were looking away from her.

Suddenly her attention was turned towards the bottom of the sewers as another noise broke through the sound of the waterfall. For a moment her eyes fluttered over to the dark form of Batman before she look at Bane as he stared at the man beneath him, her breath hitched in her throat as she realized that Bane had most likely killed him. First he had killed all those employees and now he had gotten rid of the Batman as well.

He was dead right? The man wasn't moving, his limp form lay beneath Bane as if he had simply been a deer that someone had shot down in the woods, but Hadeel knew better than that. She had listened to the whole fight from her little cage, she'd tried her best to block out the noise but it hadn't helped much.

Feeling eyes on his form Bane turned to look up, catching eyes with Hadeel as she stared at him fearfully; Hadeel held his eyes for a second before letting a hurt expression flash across her face. Turning around quickly she ran from him, disappeared into the darkness of the sewers, her bare feet pounding on the hard cement as she fled.

"Hadeel!" She heard Bane call out for her. There was no way she was going to stop now, not when he had seen her turn away from him, he'd promised her a punishment if she were to sing or speak. There would definitely be a worse punishment for running away, but what would it be? Would he kill her?

Ignoring the pain in her injured leg she turned the corner and ran down yet another tunnel that led to God knows where, for all she knew she was going deeper into the sewers. Hadeel didn't care, as long as she was getting away from the dead form of the Batman, and the ever so deafening silence of the waterfall that was her music in her cage.

She had had enough of seeing dead bodies, it made her want to scream and cry out, she wanted to let the tears flow down her face like a flood. To tire herself out and fall asleep in her room as she always did when her emotions grew too much within her, she didn't want to be here. Not with a man that forced her to speak even when she didn't want to, someone who dragged her around and didn't ask her if she wanted to come along. There was no reason for Bane to take her, or even keep her for that matter.

There was nothing special about her.

030

When Bane had caught eyes with Hadeel he couldn't think of anything to say, her expressions made him catch his breath lightly. He'd never seen her look that way to him before; she looked frightened, the way her face twisted into an expression of hurt made him want to keep her for himself all over again. These expressions were only meant for him to see, he was the one fixing her.

For a moment they stayed as they were, staring at each other before Hadeel turned away from him quickly, vanishing into the dark.

"Hadeel!" Bane called out to her loudly.

She didn't reappear, though Bane hadn't really expected her to. What kind of bird would fly back at the mention of its name after escaping its cage?

Bane moved quickly to go after her, watching as Barsad disappeared into the dark behind her, the man was quick on his feet and knew there would be hell to pay if the girl got away.

Glancing back at the Batman on the ground Bane turned away from him at once, Hadeel was much more of an interesting creature when it came to what was of more importance to him. Because the cage was empty, and if it was empty there would be no one to sing in the dark of the night, and no other song bird would suffice. It had to be Hadeel.

_"I Just wanna run." **-The Downtown Fiction**_

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**AN: So, what did you think?**

**Hadeel finally got away, do you think she'll make it very far? Probably not.**

**Anyway the song Hadeel sings in this chapter is called Leave Out All the Rest by Linkin Park. The other song is called I just wanna run by the downtown fiction.**

**I had someone suggest a few songs for me to use in my story, which was awesome, if anyone else wants to do that as well go right ahead. Something that you think would fit perfectly with the story, or whatever.**

**So thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 9

**AN: Hey, this one came out way sooner than the last one did, happy day! I actually had about three thousand words written out, but had to change it because I didn't like it much at all, and I did it for you readers. Rejoice and be happy I am unwilling to write random junk to fill the page. Enjoy the chapter.**

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_"And your heart, is a stone. Buried underneath your pretty clothes." **-The Naked And Famous**_

**Chapter Nine**

Running had never been something Hadeel enjoyed. When she was in elementary school and she and her friends used to play State tag she had been named the fastest of all of them because she never got tagged to be it. Even when they ran back to the classroom at the end of recess she was the first one there. Perhaps in Fifth grade she had been rather proud of that. Then there was the three years of awkward hell that had been middle school, when bullies had targeted Hadeel and forced her to retreat into herself . In high school there was always someone faster than Hadeel, so she gave up on being someone that would stay fast, walking was so much easier anyway.

She'd never wished that she'd taken track and gotten better at being faster and running longer until now. For as she wheezed and pushed her tired legs faster and harder her thoughts were curiously traveling back to her old ninth grade gym teacher who had made them run every day in order to make their mile time improve by the end of the year. No one's time improved much at all, but it was the thought that counted right?

Usually when Hadeel walked around the house in bare feet she was fine until she stepped on a rock or a lose nail in the carpet, then she would curse and whimper about her misfortune while going to put socks or slippers on. But she couldn't do that right now, even the torn stockings that she'd had on when she'd first awoken in the sewers were gone.

For a moment Hadeel listened the steady beating of her heart as it thumped loudly in her chest, begging her to stop and let her body breathe and rest for a few moments. Of course Hadeel told it to stuff it because she was sure someone was following her and she wasn't stopping for anything anytime soon. Even with her feet screaming out in pain at her Hadeel choked back a shaky sob before turning the corner to go down another passageway of more sewers.

Her thoughts kept flashing back to seeing the Batman on the ground and repeating everything Bane had said during her last few moments in her cage. His voice echoed in her head as he called her name, while his story about being born in the dark stepped cautiously through her brain. She was so very interested in the man that she would consider staying with him if he were not the evil killing machine that forced her darkest secrets from her lips. If he wasn't like that then maybe she wouldn't have booked it out of there. No never mind, she still would've run, he'd kidnapped her after all.

Suddenly hearing a new sound other than her own footsteps on the ground Hadeel ran faster towards the noise that was rushing water. Hopefully the water rushing meant that if she followed it she could eventually get out of the sewers and find some help. Like when her family used to go hiking and they would follow the river or stream until they found a pond or some sort of lake. Of course there was no such lake that she would get led to here, but hopefully the water would lead her outside somehow.

Taking quick strides towards the new source of sound Hadeel didn't notice a small step down until she was stumbling around on her feet trying to stay up. Quite successfully she landed on her knees, grating some skin off her legs and messing up her foot slightly, Hadeel barely allowed herself to gasp before she was back on her feet. Her hands and legs burned with new pain as she pushed herself beyond any limits she thought she had, usually she only lasted about a minute running at full speed. It felt like she'd already been running for a long time, of course she knew that it'd probably only been mere minutes since she heard Bane call out to her.

Quite quickly Hadeel found herself at a torrent of rushing water, like a vicious river before a waterfall, there were two little walkways of either side of the ferocious water. They looked slippery and slick, something that would definitely make Hadeel slip and slide all over the place, but this was the best escape route that she had.

She had only stopped for a second to stare at the daunting river and already her breathing was catching up with her, coming in ragged painful breaths Hadeel huffed and shook as she tried to recover from her run. Even with her body screaming out at her to stop and rest further she pushed herself further, trying to be as careful and as quick as she could on the wet cement beneath her naked feet. She was exhausted, with the previous nights of unrest, little sleep, no food, and sudden erratic running Hadeel was about ready to collapse from it all.

Still she couldn't stop, not when she believed herself to be close to escaping, to getting out of the sewers and into the light of day, or night or whatever time of day it was. To breathe fresh air and flop down on her own bed, she just wanted to go back to the way it had been before she'd met Bane.

If anything at all was calming about the current situation she was in it was the cold water beneath her feet, offering the smallest bit of calming she pushed herself across the wet cement. Reveling slightly in the fact that it was the smallest bit soothing on her burning feet.

A few black dots appeared in her vision, making Hadeel slow down and take a few more ragged breaths and glance around the area frantically, she was dizzy and messed up from all the running but she still couldn't stop. How did people in movies run so far and so quickly without dying like she was? Stupid movies were so unrealistic.

"Hadeel!" A voice called out to her over the noise of the rushing water.

Turning around sharply Hadeel almost lost her footing before catching sight of Barsad looking at her from where she had first seen the river raging in front of her, about thirty feet away from her.

Feeling angry at Barsad and at herself for being caught so quickly and being so wimpy Hadeel growled and bit her lip painfully through her still heavy and deep breaths.

"Go away," she shouted back at him.

Of course he wasn't going to just leave her here as soon as he had seen her but it was worth a shot anyway. For a few moments they stared at each other, Hadeel was especially angry because he didn't seem nearly as out of breath as she did, it seemed like he had simply gone for a morning jog, while she was running for her life. It ticked her off to say the very least.

It was when Barsad suddenly started running at her again did Hadeel turn and bolt forwards as fast as her tired legs would carry her. Even as she ran she could feel them shaking, her breathing got worse along with the black dots in her eyes that only seemed to be getting larger.

She had to get away, she just had to escape. Why? She asked herself this when she'd first started to run away from her cage, what was so bad about being with Bane? He seemed to care for her at least, deep down she was happy that someone had liked her enough to steal her away, but at the same time he was threatening everything. All the years she'd spent perfecting her smile, telling herself that she was better off alone, promising that it would get better someday and she would have someone that loved her. Even if she didn't even if she did end up alone it wouldn't matter.

Closing her eyes Hadeel bit back another painful breath, doing her best to push through anything that would hold her back, hoping her vision would clear enough for her to just see what was in front of her. Just a little more, she wanted to go back. Back to her asylum where she could be alone and away from anything that threatened to break her fake happiness.

_She was better off alone._

Before she could even blink Hadeel felt her injured leg crumble under the constant weight and exhaustion of being pushed beyond its physical capabilities. She veered towards the right, closer to the water than she ever wanted to be, her vision blacked out for a moment when she hit the cement beneath her. She was aware of the edge of the cement on her back as she hit the ground and the weightlessness of falling before a cold and dark feeling surrounded her.

Barsad watched in dismay as she disappeared into the water. When he first saw that she was falling towards the ground his first thought was towards the river rushing next to her. There was a small sound of her head hitting the pavement beneath her before she tipped over the edge and fell in.

"No!" He shouted running faster than he thought he could after her.

She didn't resurface right away the way he hoped that she would, he searched the water even as he ran, if he even got a glance at her he would lunge in after her, if he was the one who lost her Bane wouldn't be merciful.

Hadeel knew it was cold and that her head was ringing in agony. She couldn't breathe, even as her lungs screamed and cried from her previous work out of running she had nothing to offer them as the dark frigidness around her weighed down. It was much like the feeling she had when she'd first awoken from her surgery, as if she was in a dream and if she closed her eyes everything would go away again and when she woke up her mother or father would be smiling down at her asking if she was okay.

A horrid realization struck her when she tried to take a shallow breath, he water surrounding her filled her lungs and made her gag and flail her tired limbs about her. The first time her head broke the surface she was only up for a second before the strong current pulled her back under, forcing water down her throat she choked and spewed viciously. If she thought getting water up her nose after a cannonball was bad than this was simply hell on Earth at the moment.

The second time she broke the surface Hadeel flailed her arms about hoping that she would find something to latch onto, but there was nothing for her to grab and again she was thrust under the surface. Her head felt like she had run into a wall or someone had hit it with a brick, she could feel her heartbeat under her eyes like a big pounding base drum blotting everything out. Finally she broke surface and saw a small ladder on the opposite side of the river where she had been running. It looked rusty and seemed somewhat broken, but it was the only thing Hadeel could see close to her.

Mustering up everything she had left Hadeel reached out for it quickly, as soon as she felt something hit her hands she grabbed onto it tightly, wrapping her arm quickly around the bar she cried out in pain as the current tried to pull her with it. Painstakingly she pulled her other arm through the bar as well before tightening her grip, she was so tired her grip seemed to loosen as soon as she got it. A sharp stabbing pain cut through her hand, but she didn't care, as long as she wasn't getting carried away by the river, it didn't matter.

But why was she holding on? Who was going to come to her aid? Bane? Barsad? Would they even bother with her now that she was stuck in a river after she had run away from them? This was all her fault, there was no reason for them to get involved, if she died, and there would be no reason to blame them. Save for the fact that they had kidnapped her and she was just trying to get away, but that was beside the point, Hadeel took full responsibility for this.

Her grip loosened further to the point where she felt her skin beginning to break open from the constant rubbing on the rusty metal of the ladder.

Was this is? She was going to die here, just disappear into the water and no one would ever look for her? She had always wanted this thought right? To die and just disappear, she had always wanted to leave such a place that only caused her pain. This was her chance, she could leave everything behind, this is what she wanted!

So why was she holding onto the ladder with everything she had left?

"Hold on, don't let go Hadeel!" She heard a voice shout at her from close by.

Don't let go? Barsad wasn't the one that wanted her; Bane was the one that kept her in the small cage that had been her home for the past few days. She was sure that Barsad didn't care for her at all; she was just some pastime to occupy his boss, nothing that required his personal attention or care. All that considered, why was she still holding on? Why did her grip tighten when he spoke to her? Perhaps it was because more than anything Hadeel wanted someone to care about her, someone who would pull her up if she was hanging from a cliff and tell her how scared they were. She'd stopped looking for that in her friends because they were always so fake when it came down to true feelings and heartache.

But it had been a long time since she had heard anyone say anything like that to her, and she wasn't going to let those words go on silent ears. She didn't want to die, not yet!

For the moments that Hadeel resurfaced and vanished Barsad recalled all her emotions, expressions, and comments that she'd showed and said to him. She was a fun girl whom he didn't particularly care for but definitely someone worth saving at least, she'd made him smile a few times during her stay in the sewers. He understood why Bane wanted her all for himself; she made you smile even if you didn't want to, but in a good silly way.

A little ways back there was a bridge of sorts leading over to the other side, Barsad lurched over it like a cheetah sprinting after its prey, there was no guarantee that she would still be holding onto that ladder when he got back to her.

Finally when he saw her head poking through the rushing water Barsad breathed a shallow sigh of relief, she was still there, waiting for him. Only when he got closer did he notice the blood sliding down the side of her face, probably from when her head hit the cement, he could still remember the dull noise it had made. Her eyes held a sort of glazed over look that cleared slightly when he appeared in front of her, she offered him a faint smile that was laced with pain that she made no effort to conceal.

Stooping down towards her form Barsad watched bitterly as the ladder seemed to move in slow motion away from the wall, the powerful pull of the current seemed to want Hadeel no matter what. Even if it had to take the ladder with her it seemed intent on ripping her into its deathly waters.

"Grab onto me," he shouted at her over the noise.

Reaching down to grab onto her arm Hadeel scrunched her face up and looked at him with a pitiful expression, she had all but given up, blood had began to drip into her eyes from her head injury. If she just let herself go all she would have to say goodbye to was the darkness of the water as she slowly sank away. It wouldn't be painful compared to this.

Barsad growled when she didn't reach out for him, but at the same time he knew that if she let go the river was sure to rip her away from his sight. It was taking everything she had to hold onto that broken ladder even as it tried to escape into the water. If he simply grabbed her and pulled her off the ladder himself he was sure that the current would pull both of them away, then he would die as well. But he had to save her.

"Hadeel! You have to let go, trust me." He shouted at her again. He had a slim chance, if he grabbed onto her right away and pulled her quickly out of the river with all his strength she would be okay, but he could also lose her.

He watched as her expression changed into one of hurt and disdain, trust. Hadeel didn't trust anyone, not anymore. She shook her head painfully, giving him a dull expression that told him that she didn't believe him, he must be lying.

Finally Hadeel's eyes cleared and she looked at him with a determined expression, even as her head pounded and red plagued her eyes sight she wanted to believe that he would grab her. If he didn't then at least she would be gone from such a world as this.

"You can do it," he urged her. Locking eyes with her he nodded in encouragement, watching as her arms and hands began to unravel slightly and then all at once as the current tore at her form.

Barsad reached out for her quickly, grabbing tightly onto her arm before feeling dread in his stomach as she began to slip in his grip. With a yell he tightened his grip making Hadeel wince, he wouldn't let go of her, not now.

Still his grip on her arm slipped and she was beginning to get pulled away from him, his eyes darted around frantically before landing on Hadeel's face, expecting to see her looking at him frantically but her expression was anything but that. The emotion in her eyes said that she had given up, it looked as if she was simply waiting for him to let go of her, and yet he could see the screaming fear in her body. She was completely petrified of what was happening and yet she could still give off such an expression.

Hadeel could feel Barsad losing his grip, even as he did his best to keep a hold onto her she felt her arm slide away from his hand ever so slightly. She could already tell that he wasn't going to be able to pull her back up, he could barely keep both of them from being torn away by the water, he wasn't going to be able to hold onto her that much longer.

Closing her eyes she waited as his grip loosened all the more, now he was holding onto her hand, gripping her so tightly it made her fingers ache and burn. Then in a single she felt his fingers slip away from hers and her only thoughts were pretty grim.

_This is it._

When another, larger hand clamped down on her arm Hadeel opened her eyes abruptly to see Bane staring at her viciously, a bitter anger in his eyes that made Hadeel freeze at the sight of him. His grip on her didn't loosen at all, it was tight and she was sure it would bruise her arm later. With a few forceful tugs that pulled painfully on Hadeel's arm she was halfway out of the water, now that she was finally safe, or as safe as she could get with Bane, she let herself go. All the fatigue and exhaustion struck her like the blow to the head she had gotten before she fell in.

As Bane pulled her onto the cement fully he could see that her hands were bleeding, her arms were rough and bloody while her head bled freely from a cut above her eyebrow. She was a mess, and even as he looked into her eyes she was beginning to pass out, all the running away from him had been worthless. She must've known that, but he didn't have it in him to hold it against her at the moment, not when she looked like this, soaking wet and scared, he would comfort her.

The last thing Hadeel was aware of was the warm arms of someone around her, holding her carefully as if she might break it made her smile the softest smile she could muster before her world went entirely black.

030

For a while Hadeel was in and out of consciousness, though every time she woke she was aware of Bane being next to her. One time she tried to get up and see what was going on but he simply put his hand on her forehead and told her to go back to sleep. Even when she woke tired from a nightmare he was still there, watching her carefully with all the attention in the world, his eyes smiled at her kindly. He only spoke again when she tried to move.

"You're all right, nothing can harm you while you are with me," his voice was calm and soft. It made Hadeel crumble slightly under the weight of his words on her heart, he wasn't going to hurt her at all, and she'd still run from him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered raggedly. Her voice hurt more than she had expected it to, but she was going to talk regardless of the pain and how it made her throat ache. "I shouldn't have run," she said thinking back to when she had been holding on for dear life in the angry river.

"You shouldn't have," he agreed standing up and walking over to her. "All you accomplished was further harm to yourself," he spoke in a low voice when he said this. Hadeel at least had to agree with him there, if anything she should have tried not to harm herself during her escape, instead she had almost drowned. "And now I'm going to have to punish you," his voice was light even as he said this.

Hadeel looked away from his eyes at the mention of punishment, when she had been holding onto the ladder in the river there was a moment when she had promised herself to take the punishment because it couldn't be nearly as bad as dying in a river. That if she lived she would take it like a boss and tell Bane that it didn't hurt her, but now her mind was anything but excited. Would he hurt her further? Break her fingers and legs?

"What will you do?" She finally asked shakily.

"You'll have to wait and see my little Songbird," he mused letting his eyes catch an air of playfulness.

Hadeel moved tiredly to get out of the bed she was in; Bane merely held up his hand and produced a bottle of water and a few pills from his person. They were sleeping pills, he was going to make her take them so she wouldn't wake when they moved her, she probably wouldn't consume them if he told them what they were. So he wasn't going to tell her at all.

"Take these," he said holding them out for her to take. He dropped them in her small hands and couldn't help but remember how her arm had felt in his grip when she had been stuck in the river, so small and delicate. When he saw Barsad struggling to keep her in his grip Bane had lunged forward, barely catching her just as the other mans grip slipped away from her. If he hadn't turned towards the sound of rushing water hoping Hadeel had done the same she would have vanished into the never ending rush of the water.

Popping the pills into her mouth Hadeel took a swig of the water, coughing as it burned its way down her throat, she'd always hated taking pills, it was one of the things she loathed after having surgery or when she had an infection. It always felt like they got stuck in her throat and she had to swallow several time to get the feeling to go away.

"Bane?" Hadeel said his name in a shaky voice.

"Yes?" He responded curious as to what she might be asking.

"When we met, how did you know I was lying?" She asked as her body began to go into sleep mode.

Bane gave her a thoughtful expression, she was curious about that?

"The first time you lied to me, I could hear the misery in the way you sang and in the words you spoke," he explained thinking back to the second song she'd sang for him. "Whenever you say you're okay you smile and laugh, but you're eyes are never the eyes of someone who looks happy," he spoke softly, watching as she started to drift off.

Giving him a pain drenched stare Hadeel's lips quivered slightly when she thought back to all the time she'd smiled and felt like crying when she knew she couldn't. All the time she went to school with a grin on her face hiding everything away from the world, they couldn't know. No one could know how pathetic she felt about herself, how fragile and weak she was. Her expression changed quickly when she saw that Bane was staring at her like a scientist observing a chemical reaction. Ger lips twisted until she has a depressed but soft smile on her face.

"And I thought I was good at lying," she let a choked laugh.

"Not to me," Bane said shortly.

This made Hadeel nod her head gently before once again her world started to turn black, like a heavy weight was pulling her eyelids closed she could do nothing against such a weight as that. The last thing she saw was Bane looming over her with a hard expression on his face.

030

Opening her eyes slowly Hadeel brought her tired and aching arms up to her head, wondering if Bane had bandaged it or not, her fingers met the fabric of something wrapped around her forehead. Even her hands were bandaged and she had to remember that the ladder had cut the palm of her hands as she'd held on as tightly as she could. Her arms seemed to shake lightly with any movement she forced out of them; there was no way she was just going to lie in bed like log, waiting until her body recovered.

Slowly moving the sheets Hadeel stopped short when she saw that they were green and blue, the same color of her sheets at home. Suddenly opening her eyes wide Hadeel looked around the room she was in.

Her posters hung on the walls, the same they did as when she had left, the same world map with a few push pins stuck in it, the same glow in the dark stars and windows. But why would they change anyway? She was the only thing in the room that had been gone for three days or more, she still couldn't believe that she was back in her room.

"I must be dreaming," she gasped slightly pulling herself into a sitting position.

Her room was still messy, like it always was with clothes all over the floor that she only picked up when it was time for laundry at the end of the week, art folder on the floor with prints all over the room. Bottles of pills from her last medical event, candy she had gotten from work before going home for the night, and her school stuff that lay strewn all over her desk.

Perhaps the best thing about being back in her room was the window next to her bed, the sun shining through the blinds made her scrunch up her face with crushing relief, she was finally home. It was day time and she could tell because the sun was shining on her through her crappy window shades. The sounds of the sewers were gone, no waterfall forever rushing next to her ear, no damp smell and cold feeling of being underground, she was home!

Hearing a noise in the kitchen Hadeel stumbled to get onto her feet, ignoring the way her legs ached and the soreness of movement after how knows how long she was out. Pushing her door open with added vigor Hadeel made a very sleepy looking Alana stare at her oddly before the girl walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Hadeel had been expecting something more like_, welcome back, where have you been? _Or_ we missed you_. But she got nothing of the sort from her youngest sister. Making Hadeel swallow a lump in her throat painfully, had her sister not even cared that she'd been gone. Her injuries were proof that everything had happened, that it hadn't just been a dream, but why was her sister acting the way she always did? Had nothing changed?

"Hey Hadeel!" A voice called out to her from the kitchen. The familiar sound of the echo made Hadeel want to break down and cry, she had finally made it back home, back with her family.

Walking as quickly as she could Hadeel made way for the kitchen, she'd recognized the voice of Margo as the one who had called out to her, she'd never been so happy to hear that voice.

Margo looked at her with a bit of a glare on her face when she approached, this made Hadeel falter in her vigor to get to the kitchen, this was not the reaction Hadeel had been expecting of her sister.

"Why did you call?" Margo asked her bitterly.

"What?" She asked letting her face drain of any emotion besides exhaustion. Even after all the sleeping she'd had she still felt like falling on the couch and sleeping the day away. What did she mean? She couldn't call when Bane was hiding her away in the sewers, there was no way he would let her have a phone.

"You know at first we didn't notice that you weren't at home, but after the first day Mom and dad started to get worried. We thought something had happened to you after the stock exchange had gotten attacked and you didn't come home," she explained letting her face do half of the talking.

Hadeel almost wanted to cry when she mentioned that they hadn't noticed at first, a whole day had gone by, Hadeel was being held by some monster of a man in the sewers and they didn't even notice?

"You didn't notice?" She asked her sister softly.

"Well your door was closed, we thought you'd come home and perhaps you were just sleeping, but when you didn't answer we unlocked your door. But you weren't there," she spoke in a frenzy.

For a moment Hadeel was taken back to when she was younger and her sister Margo would freak out when they couldn't find one of the members of their family. She would get all pouty and worried before letting tears flood her face like a newborn baby crying for its mother, she had always been worried about where her family was. Even now that hadn't changed, sure she'd gotten better at letting them have a few hours to redeem themselves and call, but she still got worried easily. Now she was saying they had gone a whole day thinking she was fine until they figured out she wasn't?

"If your friend hadn't of called we were going to call the cops," she said turning back to whatever she was doing.

"My friend?" Hadeel questioned. This was new information, none of her friends nor any of her classmates had gone to the stock exchange the same day as her.

"He's the one who dropped you off yesterday, he called and said you were fine, that you went to his house afterwards to study for some tests but fell down the stairs and knocked yourself out," she muttered with her back to her.

"What did he look like?" Hadeel asked her hurriedly. What a silly cover up they had created for her, even though it sounded exactly like something Hadeel could accomplish on her own, she had fallen into the river after all.

"He's your friend, you should know," she said in an accusing voice. "Though I have to admit he was attractive, and he had an accent. Just the right amount of stubble and he was carrying you like you weighed nothing, my kind of guy," Margo sighed looking back at Hadeel.

"Barsad," Hadeel whispered his name softly. He had brought her back home, but why?

"What's his name?" Margo questioned when she heard her say something.

"Oh, uhm," Hadeel looked around the room anxiously. Would it be okay to say his real name, did the police know who he was? "Barry," she finally answered drumming her fingers on the table nervously.

"Well he was hot," Margo said bluntly. "If he doesn't work out for you send him my way," she laughed while wagging her eyebrows at her sister.

"He's way older than you," Hadeel blurted out quickly.

"I know," she murmured opening the fridge. "There's no school today by the way, for some reason they all closed for Monday and Tuesday, something about the stock exchange tragedy. They don't want younger kids at risk in school," she muttered taking a bite of an apple.

"What day is it?" Hadeel asked feeling like she'd been gone a year or longer.

"It's Monday, jeez that fall down the stairs ruined your brain, Barry said you might not remember everything," she mumbled through the apple in her mouth. "I don't think the college is closed today, so you still have to go to school in three hours," she said with a wicked grin on her face.

"School?" She questioned still trying to process everything.

"Yeah, you leave at eleven right? It's already eight, hurry up and get ready. Don't give me any crap about being injured, falling down the stairs is hardly a reason to miss school," she said in a sour voice.

"Right," Hadeel said feeling incredibly depressed.

Turning to go back to her room Hadeel bumped into Alana again on the way back.

"Don't get too excited, I'm sure Barry or whatever only see's you as a friend," she said with a laugh before closing the door to her room.

Hadeel felt her jaw drop open at such a comment, where the heck did this come from? Anger rose in her throat like bile as she turned towards her sisters room and knocked on the door, how dare she say that to her.

"What do you want?" Alana asked from inside her room, she wasn't even going to open the door.

"Why are you so mean to me?" she asked feeling dreadful for herself.

"Stop being a baby Hadeel," was all her sister said.

Clenching her jaw tightly Hadeel turned towards her room quickly, slamming the door hard enough to make the pictures on the wall shake, she locked her door quickly before sliding down it with a huff. Her head pounded painfully while her hands and arms ached with sore pain that she couldn't get rid of. She hated her family.

A simple lie like that and they believed she was okay, they didn't even care that she was gone as long as someone came up with a stupid story like falling down the stairs. Didn't they care? Didn't they care that she was gone and hoping do get back home just so they wouldn't worry about her?

For a moment Hadeel bit back her tears promising herself angrily that they didn't deserve her angry cries but she couldn't help it, everything she had been holding back the past couple of days the past couple of years came crashing down on her. They were worried for a day before someone called and lied to them, and they didn't suspect a thing, a whole day went by and they didn't even know she was gone.

She cried harder than she had in a very long time, all the while hearing Bane's words echo in her mind. Would they really care that she was gone? She'd answered for them, that they wouldn't and she knew it to be true even before she got home. But she was hoping, praying that she had been wrong, but she hadn't.

_"How would you feel if nobody chased you?" **-The Naked And Famous**_

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**AN: I've been waiting to write this chapter for a while now, hopefully it turned out okay. I'm done with all my finals and classes, such happiness, and I passed every single one of them!**

**Hadeel didn't sing in this chapter... So there's no song to tell you the title or band name of, next time, I'll tell you one next time.**

**What did you think? Why did Bane allow Hadeel to be taken home?**

**Thanks for reading.**


	11. Chapter 10

**AN: It took a little while this time again, and again I'm sorry. My friend's dad died, so it's been a little hard to want to write something. I still need to comfort her and make her smile. Anyway, enjoy the chapter..**

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****_"All around me are familiar faces, worn out places, worn our faces. Bright and early for their daily races, going nowhere, going nowhere." **-Tears for Fears**_

**Chapter Ten **

Hadeel got ready for school slowly, thinking about everything that had happened to her and how she was back at home so suddenly. She couldn't quite wrap her mind around the idea of going to school after everything she had been through the past few days, for now as she thought about school it seemed rather trivial. Compared to her other thoughts and worries school was in the back of her mind while Bane, Barsad, and everything else were bombarding her thought process like a hurricane.

She wondered what Bane was doing right now. Why had he let her come home after he'd been so resistant to answering her question in the first place? Was he going to show up after school today? Why was he always so mysterious? Why didn't she know anything about him? Why did he kill people? Why? Why? Why?

Even if she asked him these questions Hadeel had a hunch that that he would not answer her, and he'd probably just turn the question around on her and ask her something personal about her past or something. Then when she didn't answer he'd threaten her until she did and he was satisfied with how she answered, that was probably how it would go.

Realizing half way through getting ready that her car should still be in town Hadeel went to the kitchen to ask her sister about it.

Margo simply explained that her car had been in the parking lot since the first night, which was why they had thought that she was home, even though they didn't see her or hear from her for one day her car finalized her existence in the house. Hadeel felt her stomach churn when Margo pulled her green army bag from the couch saying that the keys were inside just like always. The same bag that had fallen with a dull thump on lifeless bodies lying on the floor, Hadeel might have felt the urge to vomit if she had eaten anything in the days previous.

With that thought of food still fresh on her mind Margo turned off the stove and walked away with a couple pancakes on her plate, the smell made Hadeel's stomach growl at her angrily. It was always better to start off with something small but Hadeel couldn't help herself and ate two pancakes, a banana, and had a glass of juice before she felt full. She'd almost gone for an apple when she remembered that Bane had wanted her to eat an apple, suddenly the sound of the waterfall clouded her mind. The constant sound had been somewhat of a soothing thing for her at first, but later only reminded her that she had been here for who knew how many days; the waterfall seemed to flood her mind.

Something on the T.V show Margo was watching exploded and brought Hadeel back to present time, reminding her that she was home now, that the waterfall shouldn't bug her anymore. She finished getting ready for school in silence, stopping when her head throbbed slightly or when she had trouble with the bandages on her hands.

It was almost surreal for Hadeel, pulling up into the parking lot at school, she had first met Bane at school, except it had been raining and it was night time, she hadn't even seen the mask on his face before she promised she would make it up to him somehow. It felt like that had been years and years ago when it had only been a month or less, so much had happened to her already that it felt like everything besides it was a dream. There was no way that she was really going back to school so easily without Bane watching her, that she had eaten breakfast this morning without Bane staring at her, for some reason it felt fake. When would Bane come back to get her? Was her watching her right now?

Her fist class was almost empty except for the teacher and about four other students including Hadeel's friend. Everyone must have been really freaked out by the stock exchange event; since all the other schools were closed they probably expected this one to be as well. The teacher looked around at everyone quizzically, staring at them for a few seconds before moving on to the next person.

"I just want to thank you guys," he said picking up his apple and biting into it. "You came to school on such a beautiful day. If you hadn't come today I wouldn't have held it against you, but here you are. Even Hadeel came to school and she looks messed up, let's learn something today," he said excitedly with a bit of apple in his mouth. It certainly drew all of the four student's attention on her, with her head, hands, and leg bandaged she was certainly a sight to look at.

"What happened to you?" Her friend asked in a whisper next to her. Had she not noticed when Hadeel had walked in that she looked like this? Even though she was wearing sweatpants to cover her leg injury the other two were very much visible, plus there was a limp in her gait. Hadeel had to laugh at herself, wasn't it obvious enough?

"Fell down the stairs," she explained with a small chuckle. Barsad's stupid lie definitely wouldn't fool her friend would it? Certainly this was more than just a trip down the stairs, her hands were bandaged as well, why would someone hands be bandaged if they fell down the stairs?

_Tell me I'm lying._

Hadeel begged her friend from inside her head, she wanted her to say that there was no way that falling down the stairs would do this to her. She wanted to tell someone what had happened, where she had been, what she had seen. She just wanted her friend to say something about how fishy and fake that sounded, how the lie was too simple that something else must've happened. Be like Bane; tell her she's a liar.

"Oh, that sucks," her friend said with a frown before looking at the board for a second.

Slumping in her chair Hadeel felt like she was about to cry, she had forgotten that this was the same place that she had created for herself. She'd wrapped herself around friends that didn't care for her wellbeing as long as it didn't affect them directly; friends that she knew didn't really listen to her and were only there for entertainment. This was the world that she had created for herself, this was what she had wanted, but something had changed.

"Yeah," Hadeel said simply feeling her hands twinge when she tried to hold a pencil. That would be problematic for her the rest of the day.

When she went to her next class there was a sign on the door, CANCELLED, it read in capital bold red letters, as if the word was screaming bloody murder at her. Perhaps there was someone she knew at the food court whom she could hang out with for a few hours until her next class. There were only three people sitting in the whole area of the food court, one of them seemed content with being off to the side alone, perhaps a teacher or something. The other two were people Hadeel knew, one of her kind of friends from her next class and the glasses dude that always sits with the playing card people.

"Hi Hadeel," the girl from her class said with a smile on her face. The smile dimmed slightly when she got a good look at how Hadeel currently looked and carried herself. "What happened to you?" She questioned emphasizing the last word.

"The stairs attacked me," she joked placing her bag on the ground before taking a seat at the table.

"You fell down the stairs?" She asked with a small laugh edging into her voice. Hadeel nodded glumly before glancing at glasses guy to see that he was staring at her, she turned away quickly before flashing a smile at her kind of friend. "How'd you manage that?" she continued.

"I don't exactly remember," Hadeel said going up to scratch the bandage on her forehead. It was proving to be the most irritable.

"What did you do to your hands?" Glasses asked. Hadeel turned her attention on him to see that he was staring at the bandaged on her hands, no one had asked her about her hands yet, granted she had only been in one class but no one questioned how she had cut her hands falling down the stairs.

"I just," Hadeel started off shakily. She was unsure of what to say, that she didn't remember? Someone had finally asked her how she had managed to injure her hands and she was just going to lie about it again? "Tried to grab something and it sliced me," she muttered with a playful frown. This wasn't really a lie at all, she had been holding onto the ladder while it dug into her skin and cut her hands up. She just left out the part about being kidnapped and trying to runaway before falling into a river and almost dying.

"Hmm," he nodded his head gently before glancing away from her.

"Hey guys," a voice called out to them warily. Hadeel looked over to see another one of her friends, he was pretty much friends with everyone, the only bad part was that he was a chatterbox and once you got him talking it was hard to shut him up. He stopped short when he saw that Hadeel had bandages all over, but before he could ask anything she answered his question.

"Fell down the stairs," she muttered with a grim smile.

"Sucks for you, but I'm happy it wasn't me," he laughed before sitting down at the table as well.

Hadeel smiled at him playfully, thinking about how big of a jerk he was and wondering why she was even friends with him in the first place.

"When I was in the army," glasses started to say something before chatterbox could even start. He gave the massive talker a stern gaze to make him shut up while he told his story. "I was overseas with my buddy from high school, he was a real goofball," he said solemnly.

Hadeel noticed that as he started talking about his friend his eyes glazed over slightly, and his voice adopted a more distant tone. It reminded Hadeel of how she felt when she recalled past events that had happened to her and harmed her so that whenever she recalled them it shook her whole form. Something bad had happened to this man in the army, Hadeel was sure of it.

"We were trying to take over a house with a family being held hostage inside. My buddy and I were poorly hidden behind some boxes, or whatever the hell it was," his voice got colder as he continued talking. "There was a sniper on the roof that we didn't know about, and in a split second he got shot in the head," he muttered.

Our table was silent; even the teacher sitting off by themselves seemed to listening to his story, Hadeel could see the whole scene playing out in her head, the sound of the gunshot as it tore through his head. The story made her deeply uncomfortable as she recalled the bodies at the stock exchange, her breathing got deeper and heavier as she tried to block the images from her mind. Looking up she saw that glasses was staring at her sternly, watching as her expression twisted and warped until she fixed it to emotionless again.

"My very first thought was, _good thing it wasn't me,_ and I have regretted saying that every day I wake up and every day I go to sleep. It was the first thing that entered my mind," he murmured letting his voice drag off at the end.

Hadeel had heard that phrase many times directed at her, with kidney stones, broken bones, and a long list of accidents under her belt people were always happy when they saw how bad their day could have been when they looked at her. Some people boasted a broken arm or leg, telling of how they had fallen from a tree and heard the snap echo around the forest, but that was the extent of their excitement. Of course there were people worse off than Hadeel but when it came to sympathy for petty things like coughs, and scratches. Hadeel did not hold back in telling the person how trivial that injury was.

There was nothing she could say to glasses though, no comfort or cheering up, he wouldn't have it anyway, the way his voice was so set when he spoke made her hold her tongue. He didn't want sympathy from them, he just wanted them to know the pain that comes with petty little words like, at least it wasn't me.

"I'm so sorry man," chatterbox tried to say something to make him feel better.

"What are you sorry for, I'm the one who said it," glasses said with an awful sounding laugh. "But that was in the past," he laughed getting a bright smile on his face. "All I can do now is do my best to repay him," he said taking out his playing cards. "Now look at this new monster I got," he said brushing off the story like a flea. He gave Hadeel one last cold searching look before directing his attention on the other girl at the table.

For a while after that story Hadeel's mind was washed clean of any thoughts of Bane or Barsad, her only thoughts were how glasses must've felt after his buddy died. Did he hold his body and cry out to God? Cursing at him for taking his friend away from him, she wondered if any of her friends would do the same thing for her. If she died early in their lives would they forever remember her for something? Or would she just be another face in the sea of faces that was their memory?

There was an air of sullenness that stayed with the group the rest of the time until it was time for Hadeel's and her kind of friends next class, they walked up the stairs exchanging worthless comments about how many people they thought would be in the class. Her friend guessed at least ten, but Hadeel said it would be more like four or five like her previous class. When they got in the classroom there were about seven kids, and since it was in the middle of both of their guesses they both looked at each other nodded with a small laugh.

As soon as the teacher started lecturing Hadeel let her mind go into a sort of daze, dwelling on her teachers words and getting back into the routine of taking notes, even though it hurt her hand more than usual, and doodling. Laughing at little jokes and silly words that the teacher threw out randomly during class, Hadeel had always liked the class since she actually paid attention and learned something.

After the class ended her teacher asked her what happened and she explained that she had fallen down the stairs, a few other students seemed to be listening as well for they stayed after class until she answered the question and then left. Her kind of friend bid her farewell as she explained that she had to go home and take care of her cats, she was always talking about her cats and how she liked to make duct tape purses and wallets. Useless information that Hadeel felt that she bragged about for she always seemed prideful and demeaning when she talked about it.

Saying Good bye to her teacher Hadeel stopped herself short, for a whole hour and a half she hadn't any thoughts about Bane or the sewers, in fact it hadn't even crossed her mind until this moment. It shocked her slightly, was it really this easy to just forget everything that had happened? But life always goes on right?

030

When Hadeel got home that night it was late, about nine fifteen or so, she was hoping that by then everyone would either be asleep or so far into whatever movie they were watching they wouldn't question her about anything. Her father was watching the television with her mother leaning against him, a comforting image, but it did nothing to help Hadeel calm down. Walking past the kitchen quietly Hadeel went to her room immediately, closing the door and dropping her bags onto her bed and onto the floor, not caring where they landed.

At school everything and everyone was exactly as how she had left it, the friend she had told off not long ago didn't come to school so there was nothing to worry about there. Her art class was just as it always had been, with the same teacher that smelled like alcohol and got in her face when she talked to anyone about art. Nothing at school had changed except for her.

Going into the bathroom Hadeel was relieved to see that her sisters were in their respective rooms and nowhere to be seen, because she really didn't want to talk to them right. She had been thinking about having a hot shower all day, to soothe her itchy head and aching palms, but now that she looked at the shower bathtub combination a bath sounded better. Turning the handle she watched for a few moments as the water began to pour out and fill up the surface of the tub. She was exhausted from everything that she had done during the day; her injuries slowed her down more than she thought they would. But she didn't want to go to sleep, not yet, for she was afraid that her dreams might be plagued with bodies, as they had been when she was with Bane.

Suddenly Hadeel was aware that the sound of the water going into the bathtub sounded awfully familiar to the waterfall in the sewers, the constant run of it as it traveled down into the ground beneath the sewers. The steady movement of water passing before her eyes. Closing her eyes tightly Hadeel tried to blot it out, she didn't want to think about this so soon after getting back home. But the memory would not leave her so quickly, the warmth of the water brought moisture into the air, making Hadeel breathe in damp hair that she could only relate to the sewers.

Shivering horribly she sank down to the cool tile of the bathroom floor, and again she was reminded of the cool concrete beneath her feet as she ran from her cage in the sewers. A loud voice made her jump and shake as someone on the television made a commotion. Hadeel had to remind herself that she wasn't in the sewers anymore, that she was home where she could be safe.

Safe.

Was she safe at home? What kind of safety did her house have to offer her? Bane had said that as long as she was with him she would be safe, but what kind of safety did he offer her?

At home she could be alone in her room and pretend like everything that gave her worry or distress didn't exist, her room was her cave that no one was allowed to enter and steal information from. In this case the information would be Hadeel's emotions and secrets. Her parents didn't make her feel safe, except for maybe from being broke; her sisters offered her nothing rather than the occasional feeling of family. It was just her room that was the safety part of it.

Then what did she feel with Bane? He didn't leave her alone like her parents did, he asked her questions directed at her past and her secrets, he wanted to steal that information that she'd hidden away. He was a hulking mass of a man whom stood above her like a giant and a king, demanding and commanding things of her. He kept her in a cage and refused to let her go or even answer her questions. He was the exact opposite of safety in Hadeel's mind, but if he was like that, then why did she feel like there was an emptiness. An emptiness she had not known until now, after she had been released from her cage, what did that mean?

Finally snapping out of her thoughts Hadeel stood back up to see that the tub was already almost full. Ridding herself of her clothing Hadeel was careful when it came to taking her shirt off as it passed over her forehead bandage. Looking at herself in the mirror she saw that there were bruises on her wrists where Bane had held her down, she hadn't even noticed them until now_, just like the emptiness_.

With a careful hand Hadeel began to work at peeling away the bandage on her head, scrunching her face up painfully as the sticky adhesive pulled at the skin on her face Hadeel frowned when she saw the gash on her head. It was a little bit above her eyebrow and looked about as big as a dime, not circular, but long and thin at the ends, even though it had already scabbed over Hadeel looked at it with disgust. Next she took the bandage off her leg, it was more healed compared to her head but still looked nasty and bruised. When she took the bandages off her hands Hadeel bit her tongue painfully, the cloth had stuck into the wound and was now pulling at it, making Hadeel wince in agony.

At last the bandages were off and Hadeel turned off the water before putting on of her feet in, jerking it back immediately when the water burned her foot with the intensity of the heat. With a bit of tinkering with cold water and hot water Hadeel was able to sit down in the tub painstakingly, her injured leg burned and hissed angrily at her while her hands felt like they were holding fireballs. Slowly Hadeel let her head fall under the water as well, twisting her head out of the water immediately when the water stabbed at her forehead furiously.

"Ahh, dangit," Hadeel murmured bitterly.

Now that her head was throbbing with new pain Hadeel decided to just lean her head back against the cool tile behind her. Closing her eyes she remembered a song that would go perfectly to what she was feeling, she didn't know the whole thing, but the bits and pieces she knew were just fine.

"I have a migraine, and my pain will range from up, down, and sideways. Thank god it's Friday, cause Fridays will always be better than Sundays because are my suicide days. I don't know why they always seem so dismal, thunderstorms, clouds, rain, and a slight drizzle. Whether it's the weather or the letters by my bed, sometimes death seems better than the migraine in my head," she sang the words softly into the murky hot air around her form.

Hadeel had never been one to have migraines, she'd had one in high school, the letter in her textbook that she had been reading suddenly turned fuzzy and illegible while her vision began to get blurry. The edges of her eyesight began to turn black before an aching pain clouded her mind, but that was the extent of what she remembered. If it was like kidney pain in the head then Hadeel kind of had an idea of what it was like.

"Am I the only one I know, waging my wars behind my face and above my throat? Shadows will scream that I'm alone, but I know, I've made it this far, kid," getting further into the water Hadeel watched as ripples broke across the water in front of her mouth as she sang. "I am not as fine as I seem, pardon," she spoke these words a little louder. "Me for yelling," she stopped abruptly.

That was the one line in the song that Hadeel loved more than anything, because it was exactly how she felt most of the time, no matter how much she smiled or laughed she was empty inside. But it didn't matter because no one ever noticed or paid any attention to what she was hiding beneath her mask. Of course there wasn't anyone else to blame but herself for that, she couldn't just spend her whole life waiting for someone to notice that she was lying. She'd never find anyone like that, except that Bane had found her.

030

The next day Hadeel went to work to explain why she had missed the last couple days that she had supposed to be working, she didn't tell her boss that she had been kidnapped and kept against her will by a massive giant of a man. No, no one would believe that anyway. She said that she fell down the stairs, and knocked herself out for a few days, and that was why she hadn't been at work, or even anywhere remotely near it.

Of course her boss believed her, the bandages on her form were a very good backup to her story, after she explained that she went home, except that she felt like there was nothing to do. After spending days sitting around and listening to the rush of the water it felt like Hadeel no longer knew what to do with her free time. She could go on the internet, watch television, read a few books, or draw, so many things she could do and yet she chose to sit in her room and listen to music while she wasted the day away.

When she dozed off sleepily Hadeel was thrown into a nightmare, not one that she remembered at all except that it was terrifying, it was just one of those dreams that she couldn't recall but still remembered the frightfulness of being stuck within it. Snapping her eyes open Hadeel sat up quickly, searching her room as she expected Bane to be watching her just as he had always been watching her in the sewers. But of course he wasn't there, he'd let her come home where she was _safe._

Trembling with newfound coldness Hadeel pulled her knees up to her chest and sat on her bed in a little ball, she hadn't been able to sleep much the night before because nightmare had plagued her dreams like mosquitoes on a hot summer day. She'd tried to remember how she'd gotten to sleep before but couldn't quite put her mind on it, had she even been able to get to sleep in the sewers at all.

Now as she shook with fear Hadeel recalled a time when she had had a nightmare and woken in terror, whimpering and trying not to let all her terrified emotions out into the world. Bane had been listening to her struggle with her own dreams and emotions for some time before he finally came up to comfort her.

She'd though that he would laugh at her and her petty dreams and worries, but instead he'd listened and made sure not to smirk or anything of the sort. She thought that he was angry at her for some reason, but instead he'd gently pushed her hair out of her face and tapped her on the forehead lightly. She didn't have any more nightmares after that.

Why that had helped her at all Hadeel didn't know, but Bane wasn't here now, so she would lose sleep.

030

On Wednesday Hadeel was back at school, none of her classes were cancelled and there were more students in class than there had been on Monday, but still less compared to the normal amount on any other day. Hadeel felt like she was caught up in two different worlds, different realities or something. On one side she was happy that she was back and that everything had gone back to normal as if she had never left. On the other hand she was appalled that no one cared that she had been kidnapped and in the sewers for three or so days, not that anyone knew, but she felt that there was no way she could go back to her normal life.

A lot of things seemed different, the way she felt about herself and moved and interacted with people was different. She was still laughing and smiling, telling silly stories that had no meaning or value, but there was something missing, and she didn't quite know what it was. Another weird thing was that glasses dude seemed to be staring at her a lot more often than he used to, which was never at all, so that was a little odd.

In a way everything around her seemed a lot more fake than it used to, as if she wasn't even the same person at school as she was with Bane. He always saw right through everything she tried to cover up, there was a reason for that, though she didn't know, but here at school she could lie about anything. No one would ever be the wiser.

During her art class Hadeel walked outside, wondering if she waited long enough would Bane show up and take her away again. But what was she thinking? Did she want to get taken away? No, that would be preposterous, right? Why would she even think about that?

"Hadeel!" Someone called out to her suddenly. Turning quickly towards the source of the voice Hadeel almost stiffened when she saw that it was her friend whom she had not seen since she'd told her how angry she had been.

"Hi," Hadeel said simply not wanting to be anywhere near her. "I wish I could talk but I have to go back to-," Hadeel began to turn away from the girl before she interrupted her.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry," she said twisted her head away from Hadeel's eyes.

"Let's talk somewhere else," Hadeel muttered feeling like it was a bit open out in the courtyard. They were silent as they walked towards the stairs to get into the building that surrounded them.

"I shouldn't have just ditched you like that," she mumbled trying to be quiet.

"But you did," Hadeel countered bitterly.

"I didn't know it would hurt you so much," she said loudly suddenly.

The girl was frustrated with Hadeel, finally she'd gone to school intent on telling Hadeel that she was going to make it up for her and yet it seemed like Hadeel had more to say. She was hoping that Hadeel would be one of those silent types who was grateful for an apology, but she wasn't at all. When Hadeel didn't say anything the girl continued with renewed vigor in her voice.

"You're never angry Hadeel, I mean not for very long anyway, not at your friends," she said stopping Hadeel on the stairs. "Even when something happens that you should be sad about you never say anything, I didn't think you would get so upset by this," she was starting to get a little frantic with what she said.

"Well," Hadeel started to say something but couldn't really think of anything to defend herself.

"Why did it hurt you so much?" Her friend pushed her for an answer. Immediately Hadeel was reminded of Bane and how he pushed her for answers when she didn't want to say anything, but this felt different. She wanted to answer her friend, she wanted her to know.

"A long time ago I lost a lot of friends, they all forgot about me, now whenever something like that happens I just," she stopped herself short when her eyes started to water. "Can't handle it," she explained letting her voice crack slightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," she said looking a little lost at what to say.

"It's entirely my fault, I never tell anyone this stuff," Hadeel said with a straight face. "But thanks," she smiled honestly. Turning towards the building again Hadeel was just going to go towards the drinking fountain, when her friend stopped her again.

"Wait," she said sternly.

At that moment a gun shot rang off in the distance, making Hadeel jump and turn towards the sound quickly. Unbeknownst to the college the sewers had more or less exploded and trapped all the cops in the city underground, Bane had made an announcement that the city was on its own now, and if anyone tried to interfere a bomb would go off and kill the entire city.

There were perhaps only about twenty people in the whole school who knew what had happened, and that was because they had been trying to watch the football game in class instead of taking notes, or because they were on break or something. They knew about Bane, but what they didn't know was that he had sent about six or so men to the college in order to get something that belonged to him. One of these men was bent on getting whatever it was at the college because he knew exactly what it was, but a couple of them just wanted to cause some trouble after lying dormant for so long in the sewers.

Now as the men started to get a little jumpy Hadeel and her friend saw them enter the courtyard and go straight for the art room that Hadeel had been situated in not five minutes prior.

"What's going on?" Her friend asked in blatant fear.

Hadeel was somewhat frozen as she watched the men disappear into the room before one of them walked back out slowly, just when she thought her life was returning to normal and she would never have to see him again Hadeel recognized Barsad.

"Run," Hadeel said softly to her friend, pushing her into the building quickly. "Hurry," she said louder when her friend didn't listen to her.

Glancing back in the direction of Barsad, Hadeel locked eyes with him for a second before he started to run after her quickly. Another man not so far away as Barsad noticed the sudden change in direction and started running after Hadeel as well, forcing her to push her friend into the building and farther away from the two men.

"Why are they here?" Her friend asked again.

"Just run!"

_"And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad. The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had." **-Tears for Fears**_

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**AN: So that was this chapter, what did you think? Bane didn't give her very much time did he? I actually didn't want to write very much of her being alone, so I made it pretty quick.**

**The song in this chapter is called Migraine by Twenty One Pilots, a song I've recently gotten addicted to. **

**By the way if anyone likes the newer James Bond's with Daniel Craig I'm thinking about writing a story for it, I've actually been thinking about it for a while, just wondering if anyone would stop by and read it.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	12. Chapter 11

**AN: Hey people, so...I don't really have anything to say. Enjoy the chapter.**

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_"And I, I hope for your life. You can forget about mine." **-Keaton Henson**_

**Chapter Eleven**

Feeling her breath hitch in her throat Hadeel quickened her pace, forcing herself not to look behind her and see if they were close she pushed her friend to go faster. In all the rush of running she had little time to realize how very terrified she was at what was currently happening. Barsad was here and he was chasing her so the obvious thing was that Bane wanted her back already, she'd barely been gone two days.

Slamming her feet onto the ground harshly Hadeel twisted suddenly around the corner, remembering that there were sets of offices hidden in the wall along one side of the building. Only a student that went to the college knew that the offices were there, mostly because the building was rather new and they had been exploring it since it opened. Quickly Hadeel glanced behind them to see that the other man was not far behind while Barsad was staring directly at Hadeel with a stern look on his face. A look that made Hadeel shiver slightly, it made her feel like there really was no escape, that she wasn't going to get away.

Swallowing that thought as if it was bile she thrust her friend quickly into one of the offices before sliding the door closed and retreating into another of the offices behind it. There was joy that came with the discovery that all the offices were connected and they could retreat farther into the secret rooms until they could no longer hear someone coming for them.

"Hadeel?" Her friend asked in a soft gasp. They were both breathing heavily from the sudden sprint, and now the fear had settled into their stomachs, making the both of them shake as they cowered against the wall.

"Shh," she hushed her friend shakily.

After a few seconds of silence they heard the harsh sound of heavy footsteps rush past, even as far in as they were Hadeel could still hear them coming after her, though they had passed her the painful beating of her heart persisted. She wasn't safe, not yet.

"I've lost sight of her," a voice shouted loud enough for them to hear. Hadeel stiffened, catching the gaze of her friend who looked like she'd seen someone get murdered, Hadeel knew that expression well.

A second thundering of footsteps could be heard as Hadeel had to guess that Barsad was now running past the hidden offices, she could almost hear the frustration in his voice when he spoke.

"What do you mean you lost her?" His voice was angry.

Suddenly a scream echoed throughout the building, making both Hadeel and her friend jump and gasp at the sound, that scream was followed by another scream before a gunshot could be heard. No more screams after that, Hadeel almost assumed that the screamer was dead, but didn't want to picture it.

"Did they kill her?" Her friend asked starting to lose it.

"It was a warning shot to be quiet," Hadeel explained frantically.

But she could already see the dead body of a girl lying limply on the floor just like the employees at the stock exchange had been. The blood, it surrounded her like a blanket, leaking from a hole in her head or in her chest, Hadeel choked on her breath and felt tears sting her eyes. The cold look of the dead girl on the ground stared lifeless into Hadeel as she could already see people running and staring horrified at the girl on the ground.

"She's not dead," Hadeel whispered to herself reassuringly.

Torn from her thoughts they heard gunshots again before Barsad's voice followed the mess of screams and yells.

"Everybody out!" He shouted firing his gun a few more times. "Get out or I'll shoot you and splatter your blood all over the floor," he threatened darkly. His voice was farther away than before, and they could barely understand the muffled voice through the walls of the offices. But at his latter comment Hadeel felt her friend shiver next to her, taking short quivering breaths she looked at Hadeel with tears shining in her eyes as well.

"They're here for me," Hadeel whispered watching her friend's expression change rapidly. She said nothing to Hadeel, merely opened her mouth before closing it again unable to think of anything to say. "Last week, the stock exchange incident, I was there," she continued recalling the event with a choked voice.

"Hadeel-," her friend started to say something but Hadeel cut her off.

"I was kidnapped, he took me with him and kept me, this," she stopped and motioned towards the bandages and injuries on her person. "Happened when I tried to run away," she explained glancing around the room worriedly. Would they find them in here?

Her friend's expression changed into one of disbelief, a frown etching onto the girls face Hadeel felt like crying when she saw the distrust in the eyes that stared at her.

"Don't-," Hadeel cut her off again.

"I'm telling the truth," her voice cracked fearfully when she spoke in a harsh whisper. "You have no idea how scared I was," she trembled just thinking about the sewers. She couldn't go back, not after getting home and getting used to things again.

She'd gotten used to being home and being ignored, to being forgotten and being alone, after all she'd been through with Bane she'd even gotten better at smiling when she felt like crying. When she remembered what had happened in the sewers or at the stock exchange she'd choke back her emotions and pretend nothing was wrong until the memory left her mind. No one even noticed her jumpy breaths or the shake of her breathing; did that mean she was really good at hiding it? Or did it just mean that no one cared?

"It's just a little farfetched," her friend said with a gulp. "But since this whole situation is weird and surreal I think I believe you," she whispered trying to listen for any other sounds. "Can we still escape?" She asked letting her fear show blatantly on her face.

"These men that are after me won't fall for any small tricks, they're just trained differently," Hadeel explained remembering how Bane had taken out the workers. Even when Hadeel had tried to get away from Barsad she could do nothing against him, he was far faster than she was, and he knew what she was going to do. Merely shrugging her away was enough; surely these other men were more of the same.

"What do we do then?" She whispered feeling miserable.

"Just, stay together, work together," Hadeel tried her best to answer. Deep down she knew that they would catch her, but that didn't mean she couldn't fight back and try to run. "We can run to the stairs and try to get away through the back entrance. If we can make it to my car, we can get away," she muttered thinking though the plan.

The staircase she was talking about was about a minute's walk away from where they were hiding, and that was if they walked slow and stared at everything for a few seconds. If they ran, they could make it in about twenty seconds, but that didn't mean no one would see them.

"Let's go before they find us," Hadeel muttered standing up shakily before stopping short. The sound of footsteps grazed by their hiding place, the footsteps stopped right in front of the offices. Hadeel and her friend were far enough back that if whoever it was opened the door they would still be invisible, but it would make it harder to escape.

Hadeel looked over at her friend to see that she was holding her breath and staring terrified towards the direction of the sound, her eyes wide and unblinking Hadeel could only imagine that she looked the same. Finally the footsteps moved on, the sound they made disappearing beyond the corner and continuing father away from them. Letting her breath come out shakily she walked slowly towards the door, through the other offices as quietly as she could. Her friend got up behind her shakily; trying her best to be strong she wondered how Hadeel could even think in such a situation as this, she still barely believed that what Hadeel said was true. Why would anyone want her anyway?

"Ready?" Hadeel asked holding the sliding door in a numbing grip. Her hand ached from its wound but Hadeel paid it no attention, this wasn't a time to care about petty little injuries, not when she and her friend were about to be captured. Later, when they got away, she would complain about how her palms had started bleeding again, but not now.

Her friend nodded shortly before Hadeel pulled the door open slowly; peeking out slowly to make sure there was no one around before she pushed her friend out first. With her bum leg she couldn't run nearly as fast as she wished she could right now, so at least if they were to be seen her friend would make it and get out of here. Glancing around Hadeel stiffened when she saw the familiar back of Barsad, he was walking away from her, turning back around Hadeel almost wanted to cry out in joy when they safely made it to the staircase.

In a short glance Hadeel turned back around to see if Barsad had noticed anything that perhaps he had heard something and was now running after them, but she was met with a much more frightening sight. Even from down the hallway, the long ways away that she was she saw the door open to get inside the building, in front of her Hadeel's friend opened the door quickly but quietly, pulling at Hadeel's arm hurriedly. Feeling her breath hitch up in her throat Hadeel almost gasped when she saw the familiar monster of a man that was Bane walk through the doors, he was here to get her already!

"Go!" She whispered shortly at her friend before they disappeared through the door.

The staircase was dam feeling, with concrete walls all around them and concrete stairs leading up and down Hadeel was immediately reminded of the sewers almost giving her a mini panic attack. Looking down the stairs Hadeel and her friend froze when they saw that there was a man walking up the stairs briskly. He had not yet seen them and so her friend pressed back against Hadeel as if to get away from him, but there was nowhere to go, if they went back to the offices someone would see them. If they did make it then they would just be waiting for someone to find them, this was their last chance to get away.

"Hey!" A voice pulled both of them from their thoughts as the man in question finally noticed the two of them above him. Racing up the stairs he got his gun ready making Hadeel flinch slightly, if anything she had to at least make it so her friend could escape, there were people waiting for her to get home, people that worried about her. When the man was about half way up the staircase to them Hadeel bit back her fear and jumped at him powerfully, planning on grabbing him and dragging him back down the stairs.

In reality she was only successful at grabbing onto his arm and dragging him down a few steps before the man ripped his arm away from her and pushed her down the stairs. Hadeel stumbled before turning to lunge at him again; he stared at her with malice in his eyes, a look that made Hadeel shiver beneath her angry mask of emotions. Since the man was staring at Hadeel her friend took the chance to attack the man's back, grabbing onto him just as Hadeel had tried to do she started to fruitlessly pound her fists against his back. With this new irritation attached to him the man turned towards her and was about to tear her off when Hadeel kicked the back of his legs harshly.

His legs bent quickly and she plummeted down the stairs quickly before catching his footing at the bottom step, he grabbed onto Hadeel harshly wrenching her towards him and trapping her body against his. Hadeel didn't even think twice before she sank her teeth into his exposed arm, biting down harshly until the man shouted and threw her away from him.

"Hadeel!" Her friend shouted at her fearfully as she watched her body hit the concrete wall.

Hadeel couldn't even think to stop herself before she bashed against the wall, making her vision blurry she blinked away the pain and tears before trying to get up shakily.

The man's eyes trained on Hadeel as soon as her friend shouted out her name, a smirk flooded across his features before he started walking towards her powerfully. Even with Hadeel's friend beating against his back he merely hit her in the face with his elbow which made her let go quickly and hold her face painfully.

"So you're Hadeel?" He questioned her with a smile. Hadeel scooted away from him as best she could, trying to get to the next staircase she was right in front of it when he grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her behind him. "The one that the boss had locked up, the Songbird," he whispered the last part to her.

Hadeel stared fearfully at the man as he lifted her off the ground easily; she flailed her arms around before bringing her hands to his own as he held her by her shirt. Her vision was still a little fuzzy after she'd hit the wall, aching powerfully from her old wound she blinked past the pain and glared at him.

"After that first night we all wondered what you looked like, why you sang? Who was the Songbird that the boss kept all for himself in a cage? Now I know," he whispered to her eerily. His grip on her tightened bringing his face closer to hers he smirked again making Hadeel shiver. "Won't you sing for me?" He questioned her, shaking her body lightly.

Hadeel watched carefully as her friend got back up silently while the man spoke to her, rearing back against the wall for power her friend pushed herself off the wall powerfully before knocking into the man. Perhaps what she hadn't thought about was that Hadeel was in the man's grip and that if she were to push him down the stairs Hadeel would fall as well, although she had. For as the man look surprised and released his hands from Hadeel her friend reached out and grabbed a hold of her arm as the man fell down the stairs.

She still fell down a couple stairs but nothing compared to the man who struggled to grab onto something until his head smashed into one of the concrete stairs with a sickening sound. When he hit the bottom Hadeel and her friend were silent for a few moments before they raced down the stairs to go past him. Her fried let a cry of surprise leave her mouth when the man grabbed onto her leg tightly, his eyes were angry and burned holes into their bodies. Her friend started to kick at his hand before Hadeel joined in and started to kick at his arm, hoping to God that he would just let go and leave them alone so they could escape.

The second he released his grip on her leg the door above them opened and Hadeel locked shaky eyes with Barsad before Bane appeared behind him. In the next moment Hadeel had turned and opened the door, making sure her friend was in front of her as they fled the building. Breathing harshly they rushed past the last bits of the building and booked it for the parking lot with everything they had. Quick glances at each other showed overwhelming joy on their faces, just as a smile tugged at their lips a gun shot rang out into the air.

Next to her Hadeel watched as her friend slumped into the ground, holding her shoulder as it began to soak her clothes in crimson. Hadeel watched her for a second before her voice ripped out of her throat harshly.

"Alyssa!" She screamed running over to her form. Her friend's body was soon on the ground, laying on her back the ground beneath her began to change color as her shoulder bled from the bullet.

"Hadeel," Alyssa said her name weakly. Shock was evident in her eyes as she could not yet believe what had happened to her the two of them had never imagine two months ago that this would be happening right now. Two months ago they were worrying about school and not doing homework while smiling at each other like they did every day. Yet here they were, one of them bleeding while the other looked on tearfully.

"You're fine," Hadeel said patting the side of her cheek gently. She was starting to get hysterical, but she did her best to keep it off her face as Alyssa bled beneath her.

"I haven't even touched my homework yet, but I'm so sleepy," she said her eyes fading with every word.

"Stay with me, don't talk anymore," Hadeel begged of her friend.

"Hadeel," her voice was faint.

"Stay with me!" She shouted frantically.

Suddenly an arm grabbed her from behind and yanked her off her feet, immediately Hadeel knew that the arm belonged to Bane, it was familiar and strong and screamed power.

"It's alright little Songbird," Bane whispered soothingly into her ear.

"No," Hadeel screamed trying to break away from his hold on her. She beat her hands against him furiously doing all she could to get away from him and out of his arms, to get back to her friend. "Alyssa, keep your eyes open," she shouted at her friend. "Let go of me!" She shouted twisting around in his arms. "I hate you," she screeched pulling away from his voice.

Bane tightened his grip on her, though it was hard with her thrashing around so much, eventually he just sat down with her on the ground and held her in his lap. Holding her legs down with one of his arms while the other restricted her arms they watched as another man picked up her friend and began to walk away.

"Don't touch her!" Hadeel screamed letting her tears flow freely from her eyes.

"Hadeel, shhh," Bane shushed her softly.

"ALYSSA!" Hadeel shouted even louder. Bane was a little surprised that she could get that loud, but his shock was soon wiped away because of the current situation.

Hadeel was doing her best to get away from Bane, she didn't care that he was holding her down that he was trying to get her to calm down, all she wanted to do was hold her friend and make sure she was okay. Bane shifted his hand onto her mouth to muffle her shouts and cries for her friend. Enraged Hadeel bit down on his hand, but he didn't move. Even as she tightened her jaw and felt it break through the skin he made no move to take his hand away from her. Instead there was a sudden pressure that began to build up on her head as her lungs screamed out for air she struggled weakly as her vision went black.

030

Bane had been irritated when he'd first gotten into the building, was it really that hard to find one girl? When he'd heard a shout his body reacted quickly, rushing towards the sound, Barsad was just ahead of him. Immediately his thoughts went to seeing Hadeel lying on the floor injured, he recalled how she had looked after he'd dragged her out of the sewer river. This time he wouldn't let her go back home, not when the people she called her family didn't care when she was gone or when she didn't come home.

Thrusting the door open to the stairs Bane locked eyes with Hadeel as soon as he could see her, her eyes were full of dread. Then she was gone, out the door and away from him, she still hadn't learned that no matter what she could not get away from him, he would fine her.

Quickly rushing down the stairs Bane watched as the man on the ground got up raggedly, pulling out his gun and pulling himself out tut the door Bane glared venomously at his retreating back. If he shot Hadeel Bane would break his neck, Barsad was in front of him for a second before he pushed past him roughly. Getting outside just as the man was about to pull the trigger Bane reacted quickly when he saw that it was pointed at Hadeel.

Just in time he'd hit the man, making him fire his gun at an odd angle the both of them watched two figure in front of them running away. Bane easily picked Hadeel out and watched her stop as her friend crumbled into the ground holding her shoulder, he was only slightly shocked when Hadeel called out her friends name harshly.

Barsad pulled out his gun quickly and shot the man in the head, a look of anger and bitterness flashed across his face, perhaps the man cared for Hadeel as much as Bane did. Perhaps not as much, but there was something there, an ach in his chest when he saw the man point his gun at the limping form of the girl.

He took his time, walking over to Hadeel while she held onto her friend desperately, saying empty words that she knew weren't true no matter how much she wished that they would be. Bane could care less for the girl bleeding on the ground, it was the same friend that had made Hadeel hurt in the first place. But he couldn't stand to see his little Songbird hunched over and crying out to her friend in such a pained and frantic voice.

Grabbing her from behind her lifted her away from the bleeding girl, watching as the wounded girls eyes locked onto Banes and stared at him with tired malice, as if she would get up and kill him for wanting Hadeel in the first place. Tearing himself away from such a gaze Bane took a few steps before he had had enough of Hadeel flailing around and screaming in his ear. He could understand that she was upset about her friend getting shot but it wasn't the end of the world, she was back in his arms, and that was something calming right?

But Bane knew better than to think like that, Hadeel had done her best to fit back into her daily routine, even though she had only been moving around for a day it seemed as if she had never been with him at all. Minus the scraps and wounds of course, those alone were proof enough that everything that had happened was real.

In those scarce days that she was gone and injured Bane had missed her, he had missed her voice the sound of her song as she tried to sing away her pain. He missed digging into her brain and tearing up her boundaries while she quivered and shook beneath him, the way she looked when she knew that he had made her say something she had wanted to keep hidden. He missed her defiance and how angry it made him. All at once this one little girl had become so vital to him, and he had to have her back no matter what.

Even as she fought against him he sat down and restrained her movements, whispering to her ever so softly, trying to calm her down though he knew it was near impossible right now.

He felt her breathe in deeply before she let her voice rip through the air and into the sky as she shouted her friends name again, he'd never heard her voice that loudly before, it was so loud it'd made his ears ring. For a moment he imagine a time when she would shout at him like that, perhaps out of anger or sadness, and he would simply watch her as her walls crumbled around her.

One sentence almost made Bane laugh_, she hated him_, and what did she hate him for? Did she hate him for showing her the truth, that no one had actually cared that she was gone. Did she hate him for what he had made her say to him, for the nightmares she had gotten because of him? Did she hate him because he made her realize that she was smiling for people that didn't deserve? No. She hated him because he made her realize how alone she really was.

For now he'd had enough of her screaming for this friend that only ever hurt her, she certainly didn't deserve Hadeel calling out to her.

Covering her mouth abruptly Bane could feel the cool wetness of her tears as they streaked down her cheeks, he wanted nothing more than to watch her face as it twisted and contorted into all the emotions she was feeling but first he had to calm her down.

Even as she bit down on him he made no move to get away, this pain was nothing compared to what he had felt in the past, and he didn't want to give her any false hope that she could get away, because she couldn't. He wouldn't let her.

030

Waking up with a shaky breath Hadeel quickly looked left and right, searching for something that she knew wouldn't be there. Her head still throbbed with old pain that Hadeel didn't even care to think about, it was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling in her heart.

She wasn't in the sewers anymore, instead it looked like a regular room, she was lying on the bed with soft sheets covering her aching form. There were two doors in the room, one she guessed was the door out into the hallway or something, and the other was the bathroom? It didn't matter to her though; she didn't want to be here no matter how nice it was compared to the sewers. She wanted be with her friend, to stay by her side until she woke up from her injury, to see her smile when she saw that Hadeel had waited for her to wake.

She remembered the pale look in the eyes of her friend as she stared up at her with her shoulder bleeding freely; it was her fault that she had gotten shot, if she had just left her in the offices they would have left her alone. Why was she so selfish? Why didn't she get shot instead?

Now she was dead. Alyssa, the girl she'd met her first term of college was no longer in this world, no longer breathing, no longer smiling or talking about her new foster siblings. Her parents would wait for her to get home, waiting for the door to open so they could welcome her home and tell her how worried they were. But she would never come home.

Hadeel remembered when they had first sat at the same table and they had laughed together, it wasn't a deep friendship, what with sharing secrets and all that, Hadeel didn't have any deep friendships. But she had still been a great friend, someone to talk to, and someone who cared about her at least a little. She'd just barely apologized and God or whoever was up there had ripped her away from Hadeel's wanting arms, why had this happened right now?

"Hadeel?" She heard Barsad's voice from behind the door.

The sound made Hadeel jump slightly before she sat up and bared her teeth towards the door bitterly.

"Go away," she shouted ruthlessly. "Don't you dare come in here," she threatened feeling tears prick at her eyes.

She heard no further sounds until she saw the doorknob begin to turn, grabbing at one of the pillows she made ready to throw it at him when he came in. As soon as she saw him open the door Hadeel threw the pillow right at his face, watching as it hit him he simply let it fall to the ground after it'd hit him.

"What do you want?" Hadeel asked trying to sniff and hideaway her tears. She reached for another pillow and gripped it close to her body.

Barsad sighed and glanced at the pillow on the floor before looking back at Hadeel, he didn't even flinch as it'd hit him in the face, it was just a pillow anyway. But he didn't exactly know what to do with the girl; he wasn't good at dealing with crying people especially if it was someone he knew, what was he supposed to say?

"Your hands are bloody and so are your clothes," he said watching as Hadeel looked down at her hands suddenly.

The girl gasped at the sight of her hands before she remembered that she'd pressed them against her friends wound as she'd tried to stop the bleeding, it hadn't even registered to her that her hands had been bloody from that. She didn't care, all she wanted was her friend back, it didn't matter that she was dirty and covered in blood.

A whimper found its way out of Hadeel's mouth before she brought her hands to her chest and closed her eyes tightly; hiding her face away from Barsad he could see her shoulders shake ever so slightly as she cried.

Barsad took a few more steps into the room, pulling a back of clothes and toiletries out from behind his back he set them carefully on the bed before looking to see if Hadeel would respond.

"Hadeel," he whispered her name softly. What was he to say?

"Just go away, please," she whispered pathetically.

Barsad nodded his head glumly before turning away from the girl for a second before looking back to watch her. He saw her pull her hands out from beneath her shirt and stare at them for a few moments, her face twisted and scrunched up until a few tears fell from her eyes and onto the blankets beneath her. Even with the bandaged on her hand from her last injuring the dried blood coated her fingers like a second skin, and her head had started bleeding after she'd smashed her head into the concrete wall.

"Make sure to wash up," he said before getting up quickly. This was something Bane should be dealing with, he would be the one who would want to see it, Barsad had no idea what to say.

Once again a pillow assaulted his back, hitting the floor with a dull thud. Barsad didn't even turn around, how would he react to it anyway, harshly? That would just make things worse; throw the pillow back at her, that would teach her! No, that wouldn't solve anything.

"I'll come back in a little while to change your bandages," he said walking out the door and closing it behind him. Waiting outside the door for a little while Barsad waited until he heard some water running before he walked away, Bane was out letting prisoners escape and reading a letter he had found on the police commissioner or whatever. He had instructed the man to take care of Hadeel until he got back, to make sure that sure was okay even after what she had been through.

Hadeel had turned on the shower inside the bathroom; even though her head ached and did not wish to be soaked she didn't care, she was covered in it, covered in blood, it was Alyssa's blood. Closing the door to the bathroom Hadeel looked at herself in the mirror, letting a pitiful smile play on her lips she let her legs lead her into the shower. She didn't even bother to take her clothing off; she just didn't care at the moment, the cold water hitting her skin made Hadeel realize that she hadn't even turned to water on a hotter temperature. But she still didn't care, the freezing liquid felt nice against her skin.

Watching as the red on her hands melded with the water Hadeel didn't even bother to close the door to the shower, it was one of those walk in ones. Hadeel let her body slump against the wall before sliding down onto the floor, watching the bloody water rush down the drain she finally let her head sink into her arms. Pulling her legs up against her chest Hadeel let a sob escape her lips raggedly.

If she'd just told her friend to stay put, that she could lure them away then she'd be okay, she'd still be breathing and laughing with her foster siblings and helping her parents keep their minds together. It was all Hadeel's fault.

030

Barsad opened the door into Hadeel's room slowly and quietly, it had already been about forty five minutes, he figured that enough time had passed and she would be done cleaning herself. But when he opened the door and walked into her room he could still hear the steady rhythm of the water beating against the ground. There was also the small tremor of a voice that echoed through the room incredibly softly.

Going over to the door of the bathroom Barsad listened intently to what Hadeel might be saying.

"I'm bullet proof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away. Ricochet you take your aim, fire away fire away," her voice was soft when she sang this. Barsad couldn't but notice how very wrong the lyrics to the song were according to her current predicament. If anything Hadeel was very much full of holes and scars, she didn't have a solid defense when it came to Bane pulling everything apart and messing with her head.

He almost wanted to chuckle as he gave the words further thought, she was probably doing her best to get through this, perhaps singing the song somehow helped her to calm her nerves. Save that she had to know that there was nothing about the situation that would make her calm or feel safe, not after what had happened.

"You shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium," her voice rose to a higher note. A tone so high Barsad wasn't sure if it had faded off or if she had stopped singing. Again she sang the same line, letting her voice fade off at the end Barsad began to walk away when he could hear her let a sob escape her lips. He could come back in thirty minutes when she was out of the shower.

Walking back into the room after about thirty four minutes Barsad felt a little anxious when he could still hear the water running from inside the bathroom. The same sound of the shower that he had heard thirty minutes, an hour ago, and perhaps even an hour and a half ago, the point was, she'd been in there a very long time.

"Hadeel?" Barsad called out to her. He knocked lightly on the door as he said her name, just to let her know that he was already in the bedroom and was waiting for her to come out.

There was no answer from the other side of the door, just the irritating sound of the water as it hit the floor, he waited for a few more moments before knocking on the door again. If he opened the door and she was dead in there he would be in a lot of trouble with Bane.

"Hadeel?" He said her name louder this time.

Still there was nothing from the other side of the door and Barsad began to grow even more impatient, quickly he reached for the doorknob and gave it a twist. Locked.

"If you don't open the door, I'll break it down," he threatened her through the door. He hadn't been expecting an answer so when and he didn't get one, though it made his heart ache to think about what had happened to her in there.

Backing up slightly Barsad kicked at the door a couple times before putting all the force he could into his leg as he kicked out the door. If the lock had been stronger or sturdier he might've considered using his shoulder but just his leg was enough.

Upon flinging the door open Barsad looked around the small bathroom frantically before catching sight of the poor girl curled up on the ground. Sitting against the wall she made no move to look at him even as he stood in front of her powerfully. Water beat down on her small form; she still had all her clothes on which Barsad was thankful for, else it would've been a little bit awkward.

"What's happened?" He asked in a somber voice.

She didn't respond at first, he merely watched the water from the shower pelt her body and listened to the sound it made when it came into contact with her clothing. It wasn't even warm water rushing down upon her, the mirror wasn't fogged, and the air didn't feel the least bit warm and hard to breathe, which meant that the water beating down on her was probably freezing.

"My fault," she whispered so softly it was hard to hear over the water. It took Barsad a moment to understand that she was talking about her friend, people died all the time in front of him, it was no biggie.

"Would you have rather been shot instead?" He asked her while walking over to turn off the water. If her friend hadn't taken the bullet instead, and the man aiming at Hadeel hadn't missed she probably would've gotten shot in the head.

"Yes," she said raising her head sadly. "She has a family waiting for her, she has people that look up to her and wonder where she is when she's gone," she began to get hysterical again and had to stop herself short. Barsad turned the water off quickly before reaching for a towel and walking over to Hadeel.

"And you don't?" He asked bending his knees until he was closer to her level on the ground. Hadeel didn't answer the question for a little while, so Barsad sighed gently before wrapping her in the towel and picking her up carefully. She looked away from his face, not wanting to show him that she was a total wreck at the moment, even though it was obvious that everything had gone wrong.

Barsad carried her back into the bedroom and placed her on the bed again; he grabbed another towel and draped it around her shoulders before making sure that she was okay. Her body shivered terribly, he could see her shoulder shaking visibly even as she did her best to keep it hidden, but it looked like she had just fallen into a frozen lake.

He still didn't know what to say to her, his job was to kill people and not show any kind of emotion that could be used against him, and yet here he was, trying to comfort a miserable girl he somewhat cared for. Yet there was nothing nice he could say about her family, because they hadn't missed her, one little lie was all it took for them to dismiss her all together. It hadn't even been a good lie!

"Change into your other clothing, or Bane will do it while you're sleeping," he said trying to scare her.

Immediately her head jerked up and she looked at the bag on the floor, making a silly sort of shocked expression she let it show on her face before she gave him a small glare.

"Can you leave for a couple minutes then," she mumbled fiddling around with the towel embarrassed.

Without any further words Barsad walked out of the room and closed the door, waiting patiently for her to get done his thoughts went back to when he'd kicked down the door and saw her sitting in the shower. She'd looked so pathetic it made him want to put her out of her misery, but Bane wouldn't have liked that at all. He'd had the urge to smile when she suddenly changed her expression into a familiar silly one, like the ones she'd always worn when they first met or when she'd asked him his name. She was a little different now.

"Barsad," a little knock on the door and her voice brought him from his thoughts. "You can come back in," she whispered opening the door a little.

Once he was back in the room he made her sit back down on the bed while he pulled up another chair to sit in front of her and change her soaking bandages. First he changed the one on her head, trying his best to be gentle when she frowned at him for pulling it off too roughly.

"You suck at this," she growled glaring up at him darkly.

It made Barsad smirk at her before he quickly wiped that expression off his face, there were still parts of the old Hadeel that shone through the misery and sorrow of her current self. Next he changed the bandages on her palms, though he didn't have to pull them off because they were already gone and Hadeel muttered that they had been bugging her and taken them off a little while ago. So he made a point to put a lot of medical tape all over her hand and arm just to make it harder to get off.

"What the heck?" She grumbled at him. "What if it starts bleeding like a waterfall?" She questioned testing the stickiness of the tape.

"Not my problem," he said simply. "Leg," he said pointing at the one he knew was injured.

"Yes, that is what that appendage is called," Hadeel said sarcastically before she got a little quieter and stopped smiling so much.

"Barsad," Bane voice spoke from behind him. In one movement he got up and turned away from Hadeel, Bane gave him a wary, tired look before turning away from him and looking at Hadeel. The girl turned away from his gaze and pulled her leg away from him slowly. "Close the door," Bane commanded, dismissing Barsad without further words.

Hadeel stiffened and turned into the girl that he had picked up out of the shower before he closed the door and separated himself from such a person as her. Someone who made him smile and brought out his emotions, it wasn't what he needed right now, not when everything big had just started. Was it because Hadeel saw him as a friend in such a place as this? He wasn't her friend though, and he probably wouldn't ever be her friend.

_"Forget about mine." **-Keaton Henson**_

* * *

**AN: Collect Coats! I don't know, some weird add on youtube. Anyway, what did you think, Keaton Henson Small Hands, good song, kind of sad.**

**Do you like the small friendship between Barsad and Hadeel? Hrmm? Hrmm?**

**Anyway, have a great day, thanks for reading. Don't be shy, leave me a review.**


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